Black, White and Red
by Barmy-old-Codger
Summary: Quote from 55 - In the magical world explosions weren’t all that uncommon ... consider Gred and Forges typical activities for example …
1. Chapter 1 Years End

Black, White and Red

By Barmy-old-Codger

**NOTE TO ALL Oct 10/06**

The first four chapters that were originally posted have been rewritten based on what I hope was good advice. I have been trying to get someone to correct my grammar and punctuation … dare I trust my spell chequer?

**Disclaimer & Author's Notes**

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the first 6 books in the Harry Potter series by J K Rowling belong to the aforementioned J K Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

A/N #1: When I had finished reading book 6 the second or third time, I had the idea that I wanted to create my own book 7. I knew how I wanted to start it off, and some of the events in between, but I didn't know how I (Harry) was going to defeat Voldemort. Now I do, thanks to two paragraphs in a newspaper entitled, "Who will die in book 7?" Readers say it's ... (Oops, I don't want to give away too much). The first paragraph was by Jack Barry and the second by Nicole Nagle.

Anyway, 3 days later, after returning from a trip, I started putting this down on paper (actually, in the computer). I started by making a list of possible chapter titles to give me the logical progression through the story. So far, I have 33 chapter titles that were supposed to get me from the end of book 6 to the return from Christmas break (year 7). My problem is that I have the better part of 15 chapters written and it's less than a couple of weeks since the end of sixth year. At some point the timeline will speed up

A/N #2: Yes, this really starts as they were walking back to the castle from the funeral with an hour left to catch the train to King's Cross. Skim through the last couple of chapters of HBP to refresh your memory, and then carry on here.

A/N: this starts not 10 seconds after HBP ends.

**(1) Years End**

The three friends slowly made their way to the Gryffindor common room in silence, and then shuffled off to their dormitories to change into their traveling robes. They met up in their common room about an hour later, trunks packed, pets caged and more or less ready to leave for the train.

After a few minutes, Hermione noticed that Ginny had come down, but was sitting on the other side of the common room.

"Harry, why is Ginny on the other side of the room? We could squeeze up and make room for her. Call her over."

"No," Harry said sadly. "It's better this way."

Hermione whispered in Harry's ear, "You didn't break up with her, did you? You were sitting together at the funeral ... then you left separately ... Oh Harry, I'm sorry."

Harry whispered back, "There's no fault Hermione. It's just the way it has to be. But she's going to have a fit when she finds out you and Ron will be going with me to hunt for the horcruxes, because I told Ginny that I was going alone."

Soon all the remaining students had returned to the common room. They were waiting for a teacher to tell them to head for the waiting carriages. Professor McGonagall entered through the portrait hole and announced that the carriages would be at the front door soon. Their trunks and pets would meet them at Hogsmead station where the Hogwarts Express would be waiting.

"Harry Potter," she said. "Please come with me. We have several things to discuss … hopefully we'll be done in time to get you onto the train."

"Yes Professor," Harry replied believing this to be another attempt to get him to disclose what he and Dumbledore had been up to. He turned his head away from McGonagall allowing Hermione to see the frown of displeasure on his face.

"Professor McGonagall, may I wait for Harry?" asked Hermione.

"Come with Harry then, it's not a secret and your presence will be useful," Professor McGonagall replied. "Mr. Weasley, Miss Weasley may come along as well as I am sure they will be the next people to know."

"No thank you Professor," replied Ginny.

Ron's mouth dropped as his head swivelled between Ginny and Harry, now realizing they were at opposite ends of the room. Then it dawned on him what must have happened. He said, "I think I'll go on the train with Ginny, but I need a word with Harry and Hermione before they go with you."

"Alright Mr. Weasley, but don't take too long. The carriages will leave if no one is waiting to board them."

Turning to Harry and Hermione she said, "You two can find me in the Headmaster's office when you are ready. The password hasn't changed." Her expression became very sad for a moment and then she turned to leave.

As she prepared to leave through the portrait hole she said, "If you change your mind Mr. Weasley, just stay with Harry. Harry, if we're not finished in time to make it to the train before it leaves Hogsmead, I'll get you all to King's Cross in time for the train's arrival, so you can meet your families as usual."

When everyone else had left the common room, Ron asked Harry, "What happened between you and my sister? You two didn't have a fight did you? You seemed OK earlier today and her expression a few minutes ago didn't appear to be upset."

"One question at a time Ron," said Harry. "I sort of broke up with her at the funeral. She pretty much guessed my reasons and we discussed them. She doesn't know about the horcruxes. She thinks I'm going after Voldemort alone. When she finds out you two are coming with me, I expect she will believe I lied to her and then it could get messy."

"Ouch," said Ron. "I'd better go to the carriages so I can be there for her. She may need a big brother to lean on. I'm not going to say anything about this conversation, but Merlin help us when we break the news to her. We'll probably be better off going one-on-one with Voldemort himself."

Ron arrived at the front steps at a dead run and out of breath in time to see Luna and Ginny boarding the last carriage and got in with them. "Hello Ron," Luna said dreamily. "How are you? What did you do with Harry and Hermione?"

Then Ginny piped up, "Yes, why are you here alone?"

"I'm fine Luna, thanks, and McGonagall wanted to talk to them. I came to keep Ginny company … though I will have some Prefect duties as well."

"Keep me company? What for?"

"Harry told me everything, well maybe not 'everything', after I asked what was up with you two," said Ron.

"Oh! … Well, I still might be able to convince him otherwise."

"He doesn't want you to get hurt or killed Ginny," said Ron.

"Ron," said Luna, interrupting him, "… I'd like the five of us that were with Harry at the Department of Mysteries last year to have a little talk, maybe over tea. Do you think Harry and Hermione will join us?"

"If they don't make it to the train, McGonagall said she'd get them to King's Cross for the train's arrival, so you can ask them then. I expect they'll come, as long as Sirius and Dumbledore don't come up in conversation. Harry's still upset about that."

"Oh good. I'll try to organize it for next week. Ginny, when we get to the train would you ask Neville for me?"

"OK Luna."

Soon the carriage trip to Hogsmead Station was over and everyone got on the train. They found a compartment at the end of the train to stow their trunks and Ron said, "I have to go to the Prefect's compartment at the front of the train, but I'll be back as soon as I can." As Ron left the compartment, Neville arrived looking for a friendly face. He asked Ron, "Do you mind if I join you?"

Ron closed the door before the girls saw Neville and whispered, "Oh good, keep Ginny company will you? She and Harry just broke up ... remember, I didn't tell you that." Then Ron opened the door and said lightly, "Look who I found." He showed Neville into the compartment before walking to the front of the train to join the Prefects.


	2. Chapter 2 The Phoenix

**Disclaimer & Author's Notes**

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the first 6 books in the Harry Potter series by J K Rowling belong to the aforementioned J K Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

A/N: The first chapter is a bit short so I'm posting the 2nd at the same time. Though the chapter lengths may vary, this one should be the average length. Thank you for reading and should you care to review, I thank you again.

**(2) The Phoenix**

After Ron had left the common room, Hermione said to Harry, "Maybe he does have a little more emotional range than a teaspoon after all. Let's go see what Professor McGonagall wants."

They made their way out of the portrait hole and bid goodbye to the fat lady. They hurried through several hallways and staircases to get to the gargoyles that guard the Headmaster's office. Harry spoke the password "Toffee éclairs" and the gargoyles sprang aside as the rotating circular staircase began to rise.

Hermione and Harry stepped onto the stairs and rode them to the top, then stepped off onto the landing in front of the door to the office. As Hermione was about to knock, the door opened, McGonagall must have flicked her wand to open it.

"Come in, come in. Have a seat," she said. "What I have to say involves you both

As they entered McGonagall conjured a second chair in front of her desk. The little silver instruments that were chirping, whistling and steaming when the office belonged to Albus were still there. Fawkes golden perch was now at the back of the office under the window. The big red and gold coloured bird hadn't been seen since the Headmasters death. True, they had all heard the Phoenix song, even at the funeral, but the bird was not to be seen. McGonagall looked like she could use a quiet summer vacation to recover from the last weeks problems. The portraits on the walls had been rearranged by McGonagall so that Albus portrait was now on her right side, just a little behind her. Although his portrait wasn't awake yet, it was positioned so that he could keep an eye on the faces of anyone positioned in front of Minerva's desk. The door, behind which Dumbledore's pensieve was located, is open, showing an empty shelf. The crystal vials containing memories were on the shelf above.

"I assume Ron chose to leave on the train as he isn't here." McGonagall said, "First, I am contemplating making the two of you Head Boy and Head Girl for next year." The two looked at each other, and Harry could see the trace of a smile that had formed disappear from Hermione's face as McGonagall finished, "Assuming there is a next year. I am hoping you both will come back to school. That will, I believe, have a significant effect on the decision whether to keep Hogwarts open."

McGonagall said, "Harry, I won't ask you again what you and Albus were doing the night he died, but I do need to know if it is finished, or ongoing, and how long you think it may take."

After thinking for a few moments Harry replied, "The task is ongoing and the duration will be determined by luck and information. I'd like to have it done by Christmas, but I expect it will take longer." Glancing at Hermione, "Perhaps even years."

"If you accept the Headships, you will have your own quarters and common room, which will give you some privacy to carry on with your task. Unfortunately, the replacement batch of time-turners are going to take another 10 years to complete. However, I can adjust your course schedules to give you days of free time and even allow you to skip classes where you have already learned the material. You will gain the relative safety of the castle, as well as unlimited access to all areas of the school and the Library's restricted section. I have already asked the other Professors and we will be more than happy to assist you in any way we can. When you need to leave the castle, all I require is that you let me know where you are going and when you expect to return. This is just in case you get in trouble and we need to send someone to look for you. I expect you might wish to use my floo to enter and leave the castle. That way your trips will be less obvious to others."

"You don't have to let me know right now, but I will need your answer within a week so that the status of the school can be determined and new staffing can be arranged."

"Albus's portrait should begin waking up for short periods of time sometime around your birthday, Harry, and I expect he will want to see you. I will owl you when he's awake. Now, Albus left a letter for me to open in your presence should he die."

As Professor McGonagall opened a desk drawer and pulled out a rather large, bulky envelope, Fawkes, Albus's pet Phoenix, who had been heard, but not seen over the past few days, popped into the middle of the office with a small but bright red flash, flew to his perch and calmly sat watching the group.

The Phoenix's sudden appearance startled everyone. Professor McGonagall recovered first and had the suspicion that Fawkes's arrival was not by chance. McGonagall opened the large envelope only to find three smaller ones. The top one was marked in his neat script 'The Last Will and Testament of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore – not to be opened until my portrait awakens. The middle one was marked 'Minerva McGonagall – open me first' and the last one was marked 'Harry Potter – personal'.

"Harry, here is your letter. As it is marked 'personal', just tuck it away for now and we'll get on with this one that's addressed to me and marked 'open me first'." Professor McGonagall proceeded to read her letter aloud:

Dear Minerva,

You are probably more aware of my preferences than most. I trust by now you have put my physical remains to rest appropriately. My first hope is that everyone is dealing with my death as well as can be expected. I am most concerned with Harry's wellbeing. Please see to it that he is not left alone over the summer to brood over events. I am sure he thinks that he could have prevented everything.

There was an unrecorded prophecy that decreed my death by the hand of Severus Snape and the reason for it. When and where it would happen was a bit vague, so I have been prepared for a while. It also said that a young and powerful wizard would witness my death and later be my successor. Assuming my interpretation of the prophesy is correct, then Severus actually did me a favour, as I was likely dying a slow, irreversible death from whatever I had been doing beforehand. I can only hope that the results of the endeavour justified my death.

Minerva, I expect that Harry, and possibly his friends, are with you now. Based on my assessment of the senior students and other factors, I expect Harry is the witness spoken of in the prophecy. You know the charm for determining raw magical power. It might be prudent to test Harry now, as that may help you both in determining the proper direction to proceed from here. For reference, at graduation I was a bright yellow and at magical maturity a bright orange. Merlin, who was an immortal, was supposed to have a blinding white aura, according to the legend.

In my bedchamber is a trunk with the name 'James Potter' name engraved in the top. That trunk and my pensieve need to be given to Harry before he leaves. The letter for Harry will explain some of the contents of the trunk, as well as other information I feel he needs to know.

Someone with the Animagus form of a white Phoenix will be found to lead The Order of the Phoenix. I am thinking it might be Harry. However, with Harry being so young, he may not be easily accepted by many of the older members. This being the case, and since Harry has other things that I've set him to do, I think you will agree that it would be best to have someone older occupy the leadership position and work with Harry in the background to accomplish our goals. I would suggest you, Remus, or Arthur in that capacity.

Harry, I will finally be with old friends and family. Remember what I once told you, 'Death, to the well-ordered mind, is but the next great adventure.' Keep your friends with you Harry; you will need them.

Albus

When McGonagall finished reading, Fawkes made eye contact with Harry. Harry started and then sighed, "Oh no … you've got to be kidding!"

Fawkes had sent him an image of Harry with a long black beard, wearing Dumbledore's robes and hat. Moments later the big red and gold bird flew over and perched gently on Harry's shoulder.

While Minerva had been reading her letter, Hermione had slid her hand over and placed it on top of Harry's. When Harry spoke, she looked up at him, confused, then let out a gasp as something red blocked her view. "Harry …," she shrieked, "What ...?" and she faltered as the red thing came into focus and she realized it was Fawkes on Harry's shoulder.

Harry recovered after a few seconds and said, "Hedwig is not going to like this!"

McGonagall's look changed to a cautious grin and Hermione snickered softly. "But Hagrid will like it!" said Hermione.

"Fawkes has been here as long as the sorting hat," said McGonagall. "He used to belong to Godric Gryffindor … well … a phoenix never really belongs to anyone, much like a cat. They are very independent, but they like a warm home and regular meals. A phoenix chooses whom he wants to be with. Fawkes generally chooses the next Headmaster or Headmistress of the school. Tell me please, how and what Fawkes communicated to you."

"He sent me a detailed image of me that included my face, complete with the scar and green eyes, looking quite a bit older. I was wearing Professor Dumbledore's robes and hat. In one hand was Godric's sword and in the other was the sorting hat. Fawkes was perched on my shoulder and Hermione was standing beside me with a white Phoenix on her shoulder."

"You got a complete image like that in your mind!" said McGonagall in surprise. "I don't think Albus ever got more than thoughts and impressions. Interesting! Perhaps he was right. I should test you now. Perhaps both of you, if you don't mind Hermione?"

"Yes, of course, but will you teach me the spell Professor?"

"Certainly, the spell is 'Energus Revelio' and watch my wand movement."

McGonagall got up and walked over to Hermione. "Hold your wand straight down over the person's or object's balance point and move the wand tip in a counter clockwise circular motion while saying the charm. Energus Revelio!"

In the area circumscribed by her wand tip, a ball of mist formed that changed from black to blue through green to predominantly yellow and stopped at yellow with a slight green tinge.

"Hmmm," said McGonagall, as Hermione looked at Harry. "You could be as powerful as Albus and you've got the smarts to go with it. We don't test students in this way any more. I think it has been over a hundred years since it was common practice. It was discontinued when it caused problems between students in the past. I'll sit down and you practice on me. I'll know if you've done it right, and then you can test Harry. I should produce about the same colour as you, with a touch more green."

As McGonagall sat in her chair, Hermione walked over and stood beside her. Hermione held her wand up as McGonagall looked up and said, "That looks right dear, go ahead."

While Hermione was moving her wand tip in a circle above McGonagall, she spoke the spell 'Energus Revelio'. A ball of mist formed as before and changed through the colours to stop at yellow with a green tinge, as Professor McGonagall had predicted.

"Very good! Not that I expected any less from you, but that spell is actually trickier than it appears. If you are too far off the balance point, or the wand movement is too fast or slow, you could, in a worst case, lower the results enough to indicate I was a squib or a Muggle. Alright, now try it on Harry."

Hermione walked over to Harry and did exactly the same spell. It produced the ball of mist above Harry's head that went through the colours from black to blue, through green and yellow, to orange and stopped with a slightly red tinge on the orange. McGonagall made an 'eep' sound and Hermione let out a small 'oohhh' before Harry looked up to see his colour. He was expecting a green or maybe close to yellow because he didn't expect to be up to the level of either of the others. Well really, Hermione is so quick to catch on to new spells and Professor McGonagall is a Professor, for Merlin's sake! How could he possibly be more powerful? Harry looked at the ball of mist in stunned disbelief; then looked at Hermione's smiling face for a moment before looking to McGonagall for some explanation.

"Harry," said McGonagall. "Your raw magical power is now stronger than Albus ever was and can only get stronger. Albus's advantage, of course, was his experience and knowledge. You will probably be fully red by your normal graduation time and likely be a bright to a dark red in your mid-20's. The Founders were in the bright to dark red range and, if the stories are correct, Godric Gryffindor had some white light in his dark red mist. Most students would be in the light blue to green range at graduation based on the level of magical abilities they display during exams.

"You both should be able to do wandless magic, with a lot of practice. Really, the only difference between using a wand and not, is that the wand enhances and focuses the spell to make it stronger. That is why having the right wand makes magic easier. The Ministry only traces improper and underage magic done with a wand. You will have to concentrate more and focus the magic with your mind; you can even point with your finger if you think it might help. I suggest you practice outdoors until you are certain of your focus.

"Now then as for that picturesque image you received from Fawkes," said McGonagall turning around to face the bookcase behind her desk. "There is a notebook here somewhere that should confirm my suspicions … ah, there it is …" and she opened it at the last bookmark. "Here we are. Godric's sword and the sorting hat indicate that you are to be first a teacher, then Headmaster here at Hogwarts. The older appearance in your face probably indicates your age when you become Headmaster."

"Okay, then I don't have to worry about that right now," said Harry.

McGonagall continued, "Fawkes on your shoulder means that he has chosen you to be his friend or host. While he generally resides in this office, he will come when you call." She found the next bookmark. "Oh … interesting."

Harry and Hermione looked at each other, both thinking the same thing. The person standing beside Harry, can that mean …?

"Let me first of all say that somewhere in the first few pages of this book I remember reading that the impression you get from Fawkes is only what could be. Hermione, you and Harry standing together indicates you will be together for a long time, possibly just as friends or you may both end up teaching here. You didn't mention seeing Ron in the image. That could have several interpretations, one being a more personal relationship between the two of you."

A grin came over both their faces for a moment and they looked back at McGonagall.

"The white Phoenix on Hermione's shoulder is a puzzler." She said as she continued to skim through the notebook looking for any reference to a white Phoenix. The white Phoenix could be choosing you to look after him, or … perhaps it is a hint that you will be chosen to lead The Order. There is no one registered at The Ministry with an Animagus form of a Phoenix, white or otherwise."

"Professor, all he Animagus forms I've heard about before are non-magical animals, a stag, rat, dog and beetle. Would an Animagus Phoenix have a Phoenixes powers?"

"Interesting question, I can't recollect anyone that has been a magical creature before. When Albus wakes up, perhaps he will have an answer."

"Albus and I have tried to keep a close eye on the three of you over the years. The castle paintings are very useful in that regard, although some of them are less than reliable. By our observations of the three of you, it seems the two of you have gotten along together on a personal level, better and more consistently than either one of you have individually with Ron."

"Excuse me Professor, you're not thinking we should separate ourselves from Ron?" said Harry.

"No, no, of course not. Hear me out. Ron is an important part of your group and the three of you work surprisingly well together. I've often thought there should be an appropriate fourth person, another girl perhaps, to balance your group. There is more power in four. The school was built upon it. Although that ultimately failed, as you know. It's just a thought. I'm not suggesting you need to find a fourth."

"Good," said Hermione. "That's an interesting idea though."

"Now, as for being a teacher and Headmaster. Harry, in the normal course of events you would have to have graduated and be out in the world for several years before we would even consider allowing you, or anyone, to teach. Even then, you would have to teach here for quite a few years before the Board of Governors would allow you to become eligible to be Headmaster."

"Yes, well, like you said, that's in the future. I'll deal with that much later," said Harry.

"As I said, in the normal course of events … you realize that I have to find two new teachers for next year. I expect I will be too busy to teach Transfiguration myself, so I need a new Transfiguration teacher. That shouldn't be a big problem. Defence against the Dark Arts may be a problem. If I can't find anyone, I may try to bring Remus back, if the Board of Governors will let me. Another possibility is that I might be able to use the three of you, at least part time, to do what you were doing in your DA group. With Albus gone, I expect Tom to be preparing for a major battle that will likely come by the end of the next school year."

"The sooner we get our project completed, the sooner we can prepare for the final battle," said Harry.

"Until the white Phoenix makes its appearance and chooses someone, I will continue running the Order," said McGonagall. "The train left half an hour ago, otherwise I'd ask it to wait for you. I'll give you your Head Boy and Head Girl badges now. They will give you access to the Head's quarters, this office and its floo, and the Restricted section of the Library. Filch and the other teachers won't question you while you wear the badges. The teachers will be eating in the Great Hall at noon. You can join us if you like, or call Dobby to get you some dinner. We can use Fawkes at about six o'clock to apparate to Platform 9¾ at King's Cross."

"Fawkes?" said Harry and Hermione together.

"Yes Fawkes. Oh, that's right. You've never apparated by Phoenix before, have you?"

"No," they both said together. "But I read about it," said Hermione. "If Harry holds onto Fawkes, or he is perched on Harry's arm or shoulder, then Harry simply tells Fawkes where to take him. Well, I think it actually said you were supposed to ask the Phoenix, but they seldom refuse their host."

"That's right. If you are holding onto Harry, then you'll go along with him. A Phoenix, like House Elves, can apparate through most anti-apparition barriers, including the school's anti-apparition wards. Since Phoenixes are so rare, the Ministry doesn't monitor apparition by Phoenix and it's a safer way to travel, especially if you are tired or injured."

"You mean we could apparate to anywhere in the school, or straight to and from the Dursleys?" said Harry.

"Even into the Chamber of Secrets?" asked Hermione.

"Yes, and probably," McGonagall said, looking grimly from Harry to Hermione, then back to Harry, "but I don't want either of you wandering around the Chamber of Secrets alone and certainly not without my knowledge. Nobody else can get in there if you two get into trouble, except Voldemort, and I don't think he'll come to rescue you."

"Harry, don't let anyone from the Ministry spot you using Fawkes to apparate, at least until your seventeenth birthday. If word gets back to the Magical Law Enforcement Office, or Delores Umbridge, it could be construed as Under Age Magic and you know what happened last time," said McGonagall. I'll send Albus's trunk and pensieve to the Head's Common Room for you."

"Thank you Professor, we've got a lot to think about. May I use Fawkes to apparate between the Dursleys, the Burrow and here this summer?" said Harry. "If I can get to the Burrow or here, then I can floo to anywhere magical."

"I think that should be safe enough, but send a note to Molly or me first, in case there are any visitors from the Ministry present. Also, Fawkes can transport your messages instantly, unlike an owl that has to fly to its destination."

Harry turned to Hermione, "Let's check out the Head's quarters and then find something to eat." Turning back to McGonagall he said, "We'll let you know if we leave the castle, or go to the Chamber." Taking hold of Hermione's hand, Harry started to say to Fawkes, "Please take us to …" and they were there in a flash of red light and only a whisper of a pop "... the Head's Common Room."


	3. Chapter 3 Heads Room

**Disclaimer & Author's Notes**

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the first 6 books in the Harry Potter series by J K Rowling belong to the aforementioned J K Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

**(3) - Heads Room**

"That certainly felt a lot more pleasant than the compressed feeling of normal apparition," said Hermione.

"Absolutely!" said Harry. "We'll have to travel this way more often."

"It would appear that Fawkes can understand your thoughts Harry. We were here before you finished asking him to take us." Fawkes had perched on the back of the sofa watching them.

There were two desks back-to-back, with two straight-backed chairs, against the wall opposite the fireplace. Just off the middle of the room were two plush armchairs with side tables separated by a sofa long enough for even Ron to sleep comfortably on, and a coffee table between it and the fireplace.

Harry thought, for fun, he would try to start a fire in the fireplace without using his wand. He pointed his finger at the fireplace and while making the proper movement as if he had a wand he said 'Incendio'. There was a weak sizzling sound and a puff of smoke rose from a spot in the fireplace grate. "Hmmph!" he mumbled.

"Harry, try this," as she conjured a candle floating in mid air, "and concentrate, imagine the flame in your mind."

Harry pointed his finger and closed his eyes, concentrating, visualizing the candle with a bright yellow flame, and then he opened his eyes, keeping the image in his mind and said 'Incendio' with a flick of his finger and more feeling and enthusiasm in his voice. He heard a faint whoosh sound and the candle flamed and remained lit, burning with a steady flame.

"Excellent Harry, do you want to try the fireplace again?" Hermione said smiling brightly.

"Not now," Harry said as he waved is hand in front of the candle and said 'Evanesco' and the candle vanished. "That took a lot of concentration. Let's check out the accommodations."

There were two doors off the common room. Harry's name was on a plaque above the left door and Hermione's name was above the other door. Hermione went off toward her door and Harry followed. Hermione's room was spacious, though not nearly as large as the dorm room that she had shared with three other girls. There was a desk facing one window with the sun shining on it, a chest of drawers and vanity on the wall behind her. On her right a large four-poster bed, almost twice as wide as the four-posters in the dorms, and on the left wall a fireplace and another door.

"Looks like you've got a walk-in wardrobe there," said Harry as he walked to the door, opened it and looked in. "Oops, it's the lavatory," he said. As Hermione came up beside him, he moved out of her way and she walked through the door. There was another door on the far wall, as well as two three-quarter-height doors on the right and a vanity with two basins on the left. As Hermione walked straight through to the far door, Harry checked the first door on the right. "Ahh, a shower and the other door must be …,"

Hermione interrupted, "Your room I expect," and she opened the far door. They both walked through to Harry's room. It was a mirror image of Hermione's room. Hermione's trunk was at the foot of her bed, just as Harry's trunk had been at the foot of his bed. The door on the left led them back to the common room where Albus's pensieve and the trunk with Harry's name engraved on the lid was waiting.

"It's nearly noon. Do you want to eat in the Great Hall, or have something here while we go over the events of the last hour?" asked Hermione.

"I don't think I want to sort things out in front of all the teachers, so let's eat here, or … oh, no…" _as he remembered the funeral from a couple of hours ago._

"What were you going to say, Harry?"

"Well … out by the lake … but I don't think I want to go out there again this soon."

"Oh … yes … well, we can go down to the kitchen and bring some food back."

"Or I can try to call Dobby..."

And with a CRACK, Dobby appeared beside them. "Master Harry Potter", called Dobby, "Sir!" the house elf squealed. "How can Dobby help Master Harry Potter and his Hermy?" A moment later, before the two startled occupants could say anything, "Ahh, you is hungry and in the kitchens we is preparing dinner for the teachers and staff. Dobby will return in a few minutes with food for Master Harry and his Hermy," he snapped his fingers twice and was gone.

"His Hermy." she whispered through both her hands that were now covering her mouth. And then she saw a candle-lit table for two appear behind Harry.

Harry stepped in front of her and each of his hands gently circled her wrists and as he moved closer his arms rested against hers. "I … I'm sorry, I only suggested I could try to call Dob … him. I forgot that saying his name usually causes him to appear," Harry said, thinking Hermione was upset about Dobby bringing them dinner and her efforts to eliminate House Elf enslavement. "I certainly don't want to have to refer to Dobby as 'he who must not be named' for the rest of my life."

Hermione burst out laughing, and Harry, as it dawned on him what he just said, started to laugh as well. Since they were standing so close, they ended up wrapping their arms, somewhat awkwardly, around each other until the laughter subsided.

As they unwrapped themselves, Hermione pointed to the table, and at that moment food and drink appeared. "Nice bit of wandless magic," Harry said.

At that moment there was a loud CRACK and Dobby appeared saying, "Dinner is served Sir and Miss. Is there anything else Dobby can do for you?"

Harry pulled a few coins from his pocket to pay Dobby, but Dobby responded, "Dobby is still getting paid by the Headmistress Sir and Dobby is enjoying his work. I will not take paying from Harry Potter, Sir." and he disappeared with another loud CRACK.

"I … I didn't do..."

"That," said Harry as he finished her sentence. "Let's eat!"

"Let's eat," she repeated. "You keep that up and I'll think you're Ron on Polyjuice potion." Harry laughed again as he took her hand and they walked over to the table. Harry pulled out a chair for her and she sat while Harry walked around the table.

"Okay, you're definitely not Ron. Who are you?"

"What! A guy can't pull out a chair for you?"

"Okay, okay … I guess I'm over-reacting, but you've got to admit it's been a strange …"

"Morning?" he quipped completing her sentence again.

"Quit doing that. We're starting to speak like …"

"Fred and George?" he finished again with a chuckle. "I'll stop doing that … it sounds weird. Am I picking up on what you're thinking, or is it just coincidence?" and he took a sandwich and started eating.

"I'm hoping for coincidence because I don't want to think that you're in my mind that easily Mr. Potter," she giggled and picked up a glass of pumpkin juice.

"Oops … let's say they were obvious completions," and Harry took another bite of his sandwich. "Let's go back to what happened in McGonagall's office. Where do you want to start?"

"Well … that vision you received from Fawkes implied something about 'US' being together."

Harry choked on his sandwich before replying, "Nothing like going straight for the throat."

"Pick another topic then," she said, "I just thought we should get this out of the way first.

He gave an inward sigh of relief and hoped it didn't show. Yes, he'd like to take on that topic, but he didn't believe Hermione wanted him in that way and he didn't want to compromise their friendship and get rejected at the same time. "The summer," he said, "or at least between now and my birthday"

"Dumbledore doesn't want you left alone at the Dursleys, and you still have to be able to call that home for the protection to remain in effect. How do you want to sort that out?"

"I'd love to have your company, but I suppose I should spread myself around at least for the next few weeks, by then The Burrow will start getting crowded and Ron will likely be roped into being the gopher. Once I'm past my birthday I intend to leave the Dursleys forever. Maybe you can help me prepare Grimmauld Place"

"Gopher … what to you mean a gopher?" said Hermione.

"I mean he'll be going out and picking up stuff for Bills wedding. He'll be going for this and going for that … gopher. I think it's American slang, I heard it somewhere, thought it was funny."

"Yesssss … Okay … I think as long as you spend a few nights a week at the Dursleys, leave your trunk there and have some meals there, you could still call it home. Ron and his Mom won't mind if you spend a couple of nights a week with them and I'll talk to Mom and Dad about you spending a few nights with us. Then Ron or I can probably spend a few nights with you at the Dursleys. With Fawkes, we'll be able to apparate around, as long as we're careful about not being seen by Ministry employees. Well, except for members of the Order."

"Let's ask McGonagall if this plan will work. I need to get some Muggle money so I can get some presentable Muggle clothing. These hand-me-downs from old Dudders are pitiful, and I expect I can't wear school robes around your neighbourhood."

"I've got enough Muggle money tucked away in my trunk to give us a good start. We just have to get to London or somewhere to find clothes."

"I can't use your money, Hermione."

"Nonsense. Dad gave it to me for emergencies. You can pay it back later, if it bothers you that much. I'm hoping my parents might let you come over tonight so we should get you some proper-fitting clothes quickly. Let's find Professor McGonagall, tell her our plans and maybe she can suggest a place we can apparate to for the shopping."

They left the common room and headed for the Headmistress's office.

Walking closely side-by-side down the first staircase and mid-way along the next hallway, having bumped their hands several times, Harry looked out the corner of his eye and, like catching the golden snitch, he had Hermione's hand gently grasped in his and they were slowly intertwining their fingers. A few more hallways, corners and staircases later they arrived at the gargoyles guarding the office. Hermione spoke the password and the gargoyles sprang aside revealing the upward spiralling stairs that they rode up to the landing before McGonagall's door.

Having heard the staircase groaning and grinding its way up, when it stopped and as Harry raised his hand to the knocker, the Headmistress called "come in" in her resounding voice.

Hermione explained her idea about Harry, Ron and herself, apparating between Number 4, The Burrow and the Granger's home so as not to leave Harry alone. She asked if the plan would fulfill the requirements around the protection of Harry and the Dursley's home.

"To get a full year's protection, Harry would have to stay a solid month. Since you only need a month's worth of protection before the charm wears off completely, you should be able to get away with one full day a week. One of those days needs to be before this month runs out. When you get to King's Cross, talk to Molly, Arthur and Ron. With the wedding coming up, they may have some accommodation problems toward the end of the month; otherwise I am sure they will be happy to help you. You can also come back here from time to time."

"Harry needs some proper fitting Muggle clothes and I am hoping you might know somewhere we could go right now to do some shopping."

"Robert, my brother, has a place in the middle of Edinburgh. I used to stay there in the summer with him and his wife. You should change into Muggle clothes while I talk to him."

"We'll be back in about fifteen minutes Professor", Hermione said, and they ran out the door, down the stairs and back to their new rooms.

After changing out of their robes and now looking completely Muggle, they met in the Head's Common Room. Harry said, "I keep forgetting we can use Fawkes to apparate inside the castle." He held Hermione's hand and called, "Fawkes." The big red and gold bird popped into the room and flew to Harry's shoulder. Harry thought of the Headmistress's office and they apparated there in a flash of red.

The Professor had only just portkeyed back from her brother's home after talking to him and his wife about Harry and Hermione coming over to do some shopping. "Robert will be happy to take care of you and point out some shops he thinks would have what you need." McGonagall said, as she gave Hermione the bracelet she was holding in her hand, "This is the portkey I use to visit Robert. It will take you there and return you here when you are finished. To trigger it, say Robert's last name 'Burns', and make sure you are both holding it when it's triggered. He is expecting you any time now, so if you're ready, then off you go."

Harry took hold of the bracelet and Hermione's hand at the same time. Hermione said, "Burns" and they were gone.

Harry had noticed her look at it each time they passed the same dress shop while going back and forth in search of one thing or another for him, and he insisted she try it on. After a few quick measurements, the sales clerk found the right size and colour. Hermione went into the change rooms at the back of the shop to try it on.

Harry, meanwhile, was feeling a little conspicuous in a dress shop … well it wasn't the dresses and outer clothes that bothered him so much, but all the underthings and silky, slippery looking slips and other stuff he wasn't quite sure about.

He found a seat near the back, closed his eyes and tried to take his mind off 'things'. He found his mind wandering to an imaginary duel with Voldemort and after what seemed like a few seconds, but was probably several minutes, he had calmed down.

Hermione, after checking herself out in the full-length mirror in the change room, decided the colour and fit were nearly perfect. She could make a few adjustments, like the length, with her wand when she got home. There were a couple of other places she thought she could snug it up if she wanted to test Harry's response. She came out of the back, stood in front of Harry, and whispered his name.

Harry's head had drooped forward until his chin was resting on his chest. When he thought he heard his name whispered, he slowly opened his eyes to view the floor and the bottom of her dress. At least it was the same colour as what she had taken to change into. As he raised his head, she raised her arms and slowly spun around so he could get a good view to give her his opinion. "Well …?"

And though Harry's head and eyes came up, his lower jaw and chin were still firmly attached to his chest. His eyes were open so wide and wandering slowly in all directions following her curves. Harry's lower jaw finally started moving, which made him look more like a fish out of water than a stupefied wizard. After more than a minute, Harry still hadn't uttered a sound. However, Hermione had inferred that his opinion of the dress coincided with hers. She bent down and gave Harry a quick kiss on his forehead before going back to the change rooms to get into her other clothes.

Harry came back to full consciousness as Hermione disappeared around a clothes rack. The sales clerk, having watched his performance and still giggling, put a glass of ice water on a small table beside Harry.

About four hours later they returned to McGonagall's office carrying three boxes each. Five of the boxes were Harry's. They contained a new suit with matching shirt and tie for formal occasions, such as Bill and Fleur's wedding, and for use in any situations in the Muggle world where he might need to appear older. As well, he had new jeans, trousers and shirts for every day. He also bought new trainers and, on Hermione's insistence, a pair of dress shoes to wear with the suit. Hermione's box contained just the new dress as her wardrobe at home was already well-stocked.

"Ah, you're back in plenty of time. I have some news for you Harry. I talked to Wilkie Twycross, you remember the apparition instructor from the Ministry, and he agreed to do me a favour. He'll do your apparition testing before your birthday at a place and time of your choosing, and then he'll owl your official license to you on your birthday. I would suggest doing it at The Burrow. Ron can be tested at the same time and it will simply look like he is doing Arthur a favour rather than giving you special treatment, in case Rufus finds out."

"Thank you Professor, that's brilliant. I'll owl him as soon as we get a schedule sorted out. Is there a small trunk around here that I could borrow? Both of our trunks are full so there's no room for these extra boxes. I don't want to crush them or carry them loose like they are now."

"There are a couple of things you could do instead. You could shrink the boxes to pocket size to make them easier to carry, but then you would have to enlarge them at home. That could be a problem for you Harry. I suggest enlarging the insides of your trunks; it's fairly straightforward. Imagine the outside of your trunk as it is and the inside twice as deep, then point your wand and wiggle it like this while saying the spell, 'Maximus'. To shrink something, reverse the wand movement and the spell is 'Minimus' while thinking of the object in a smaller size. 'Finite Incantatem' will restore them to the normal size. Conjure yourselves a couple of boxes to practice on before you enlarge your trunks."

"The Hogwarts Express is running right on time. I suggest you plan to arrive at King's Cross a few minutes ahead of the train. Come back here at about five minutes before six and I'll go with you to make sure that there's no problem with you apparating into there. That way Fawkes will appear to be with me if anyone sees us arrive. There will be Aurors and other Ministry officials there for the train's arrival."

"Get yourselves sorted out and repacked. You should have time to relax for a little while before it is time to go. Oh, and I need my portkey back please."

Harry called Fawkes over, and boxes and all, they flashed over to the Head's Common Room. They practiced both enlarging and shrinking, and eventually enlarged their trunks enough to hold everything. Hermione then shrank their trunks, the trunk from Dumbledore and the pensieve to fit in their pockets. She would ask Professor McGonagall to enlarge them at King's Cross before the train arrived.

They both sat on the sofa. After a few minutes, Hermione leaned over resting her head on his shoulder. His head rested on the back of the sofa and tilted over so that the side of his face was nestled in her hair. They relaxed like that, enjoying the peace and quiet until Dobby popped in with a loud CRACK, startling them, and telling them it was time to go to the Headmistress's office.

They stood up and Harry called, "Fawkes." Then he took Hermione's hand and said, "See if you can ask Fawkes to take us to McGonagall's office." Fawkes arrived in a flash of red flame and flew over to Hermione's shoulder this time, which surprised them both. Harry had his mind on Hermione and Fawkes while Hermione thought of the Headmistress's office. In a flash of red they were there.

"Hello Professor, when do we leave?"


	4. Chapter 4 Privet Drive

**Disclaimer & Author's Notes**

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the first 6 books in the Harry Potter series by J K Rowling belong to the aforementioned J K Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

**(4) Privet Drive**

"The Aurors that are guarding King's Cross would probably overreact if we just apparated in there, so I'm sending Fawkes ahead with a note to Kingsley or Tonks to let them know we will be arriving shortly. Fawkes will return for us when Kingsley or Tonks indicates to him that it's safe."

"Professor," said Harry. "I've never been to Hermione's home and she's never been to Privet Drive. Apparition can only take us to somewhere we've been or seen before. How can I go directly to the Granger's home?"

"Fawkes can take you just about anywhere. Simply picture Hermione in your mind and Fawkes will take you to wherever she is. If there are Muggles present, such as Hermione's parents, and Fawkes doesn't know them, you may end up in an empty room, or outdoors until Fawkes has met the Muggles. Fawkes is smart enough not to apparate in front of Muggles unless he knows they are safe."

With a small red flash Fawkes appeared and flew to McGonagall's shoulder. "Alright, if you've got everything, each take a hand and we'll go."

Another larger flash of red and the three apparated to King's Cross Station, Platform 9¾. They appeared right between Kingsley and Tonks who were standing about five meters apart on the far side of the platform.

"Good timing, I can see the train coming," said Tonks.

"Welcome," said Kingsley.

Harry and Hermione put their school trunks down on the ground in front of them and looked over to Professor McGonagall. She pointed her wand at each in turn and chanted 'Finite Incantatum'. The trunks reverted to their normal size, but kept their expanded inside size. She then put a charm on the trunks to make them lighter and thus easier to move.

"Thank you Professor!" said Harry and Hermione together as they grabbed their trunks and headed into the madhouse of parents and students. They both began looking for Ron. It wasn't hard to spot Ron's red head as it was bobbing along above the sea of people - had he actually grown that much this year? They made their way in his direction.

They finally caught up with Ron as he was helping Luna with her trunk. Neville and Ginny were a little way behind them. Ron said, "There you are! I didn't know if we would meet here or not. I'm glad we did. Luna wants us," and he looked back towards Ginny and Neville momentarily, "to get together soon. What do you think?"

"You mean with Ginny and Neville too?" Harry said.

"Yes, the six of us that went to the Department of Mysteries," said Luna. "I was thinking of tea one afternoon. Do you have any fixed plans that might keep you away?"

"We've got a few things to do, but we're still flexible as to when we do them," Hermione replied. "What is this all about Luna?"

"Oh good, how about this Wednesday?" said Luna, "At my house, for tea. I have some ideas I'd like us to think about. Maybe we can all work together."

"Wednesday's good for me," said Harry. "How about you Hermione?"

"Yes, that's fine for me," replied Hermione.

"Good, then it's all set," said Luna, and she drifted off in the direction of the station.

"I wonder what that's all about," said Hermione. "Ron, Harry and I need to talk to you soon. We can meet you tomorrow afternoon if that's okay?"

"Tomorrow, fine, where, at The Burrow?"

"That will be good," said Hermione.

"How is Harry going to get there?" asked Ron.

"You'll see," said Harry, winking. "Let's go find your parents Hermione."

Neville, Ginny, Molly and Arthur had all arrived during the discussion. Harry and Hermione greeted them and begged off to find the Grangers and Dursleys. They made their way to the barrier and crossed over to the Muggle part of King's Cross Station. The Grangers were in plain view, about a dozen meters in front of them.

"Mum, Dad" she squealed as she ran towards them with her trunk, nearly knocking over a couple of Muggles in her dash.

She was greeted with "Honey" and "Pumpkin" as she reached her parents and found herself in a group hug followed by kisses.

Harry was hanging back to give them a chance to greet her. "Harry, get over here," she called at him as he now closed the gap.

"Mum, Dad, this is Harry," she said, and then giggled as she wrapped an arm around him and pulled him closer.

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Granger."

"I'm Emma and this is Dan," said Mrs. Granger. "I think we ran into each other before … a few years ago … it's good to see you Harry. I hope this is the same Harry you've been telling us about - for the last six years."

"I remember," said Dan, "It was in that bank, Gringotts, I think it's called. Arthur Weasley dragged me off to that pub and asked me all sorts of strange questions."

"That sounds like Mr. Weasley alright; he's fascinated with anything normal from toasters to airplanes." Said Harry.

Hermione smiled and said, "That was the summer before 2nd year, I had forgotten that we'd all ended up in Gringotts at the same time."

Harry blushed a little as he put an arm around Hermione's shoulders.

Hermione gave him a questioning look then said to Emma, "Mum, I promised Professor McGonagall that we would keep Harry company this summer and not leave him alone in that house with his Aunt and Uncle." "And Dudley!" interjected Harry. Hermione grinned, "He should be alone there for only a minimum amount of time and away from it as much as possible. Can Harry stay with us tonight … in the guest room of course?"

Dan wasn't saying much, but he started looking a little nervous at this point. Emma said "Certainly dear, but we will need to have a little discussion about the ground rules. Are you coming with us now Harry?"

"No, I'll drop off my stuff at my Aunt and Uncle's, then pop over after supper with a few things for overnight, if that's alright. I should go find them. They must be here somewhere."

Just then Harry heard, "Hey, you, boy! We haven't got all day to waste here, come on, get a move on."

"And that would be them," Harry quipped. "I'll send Fawkes over first. When you send him back with a reply, I'll flash in beside you. I'd better go. Uncle Vernon looks like he's ready to explode. Later," he whispered as he gave Hermione a quick squeeze. "Thank you," he said to the Grangers, and walked towards the Dursleys carrying his trunk and Hedwig's cage. The trunk from Albus and the pensieve were still shrunk and in his pocket. Hermione blushed a few more shades of red.

Harry couldn't have been happier than he'd been the last few hours and he prayed the Dursleys weren't going to ruin that.

Dan took Hermione's trunk, wondering why it was so light, but not complaining. Hermione had Crookshanks in his cage and her Mum by her side while they walked out of the station and back to the car.

Harry greeted the Dursleys, who replied with nothing more than "Get a move on." As they headed out to Uncle Vernon's new company car, Harry noticed that his Uncle kept glancing at the way Harry was carrying his belongings so effortlessly. He could hardly wait to demonstrate this ability to Dudley. He would definitely have to remove the spell, wandless of course, before anyone else tried to move the trunk though.

Emma normally sat in the front seat with Dan, but since seeing her daughter with Harry, curiosity had gotten the better of her. When they got to the car, Dan put the trunk in the boot, then climbed into the driver's seat only to find Crookshank's cage beside him and the two women in the back seat talking in hushed voices. He knew Emma was interrogating their daughter to get all the glorious details about Harry, and he knew he'd find out soon enough. He couldn't recall Hermione really having a boyfriend before. She had gone to a Yule Ball a few years ago with a Bulgarian named Victor that she was impressed with at the time, but hasn't mentioned since. Then she spent several months apparently going out with Ron Weasley, a long time friend, but that seemed to be more heartbreak than happiness at the time, according to her weekly letters. Harry, on the other hand, almost always seemed to be favoured in her letters and their discussions about school when she came home. He decided he'd have to have a talk with Harry and get to know him.

They were on their way to number 4 Privet Drive. Harry thought it best to wait until they arrived before telling them he was going to be gone for the night. He didn't want Vernon to get upset while he was driving. As they were pulling into the driveway, Uncle Vernon said, "We're going out to eat and then to a show. We won't be back until late. There are some sandwiches in the refrigerator and water in the tap. Don't use the telly or touch the stereo," said Uncle Vernon.

"Don't touch any of my stuff either," said Dudley, as he stuck his head into the car window.

"Lock me in my room and you won't see me until tomorrow sometime" said Harry. _This was easier than I thought. I was expecting a big fight about staying out all night. Oh joy, oh bliss._

"You never said anything about a boyfriend in your last letter. When did this happen?" asked Emma.

"First of all, I never said he was my boyfriend." Replied Hermione.

"Technicalities … this is big news, and I need all the juicy details. I have to be sure this is the right guy for you, don't I?"

"He's not even thinking about me as a 'date' let alone a 'girlfriend', and it's not overly juicy, but you asked for it … A large red and gold Phoenix named Fawkes gave Harry an image in his mind that included, amongst other things, the two of us standing side by side. We were in the Headmistress's office at the time, discussing what Harry had been doing with Professor Dumbledore, before he was killed and some related topics. Fawkes appeared, flew to his perch and looked Harry in the eyes. Harry made a comment something like 'Oh No!' and she asked Harry what happened. He told us that Fawkes had put an image in his mind and she asked him to describe the image to her. With the help of a book she interpreted the image. When she got to the part about the two of us standing side by side, she said it indicated that we were to be great friends. We would be with each other throughout life possibly working together."

"You told us about prophecies before. Is this one of those?"

"I'm not sure … usually a prophecy comes from a Seer, but a prophecy is not all that absolute anyway according to Dumbledore", said Hermione. "Anyway, when we were alone I tried to open up the topic and get us talking about our feelings. He stopped the discussion at that point and we tried to sort out the next few days.

"Ohhh …" Emma sighed disappointedly, "That's too bad, I know you like him a lot."

"Now for a problem you didn't expect. I did ask that Harry spend the night here tonight, but there is more to it than just tonight. Harry has to spend a certain amount of time at the Dursleys to maintain the protection spell that Dumbledore cast sixteen years ago. Dumbledore left a request in his final letter that Harry is not to be left alone this summer. I am expecting to spend a majority of the summer with him, which will mean he will need to stay here, and I will have to stay at the Dursleys house and at The Burrow. I am sure that the Dursleys will be home, so it really won't be much different than Harry coming here and there's always someone at The Burrow. We also have some studying and other research projects to keep us busy."

"I am surprised both of you aren't yelling and screaming at me by now. I'm just realizing how insane this must be sounding to you."

"Insane … no not really … lets see … one boy two years ago asks you to a Christmas dance and another boy a year ago, who you were mostly fighting with, and now Harry … and you practically want to set up housekeeping with him already. That sounds perfectly normal to me dear."

"Mum! It's not like that, he doesn't think of me as more than a friend. You know and I know I've loved him for years. Most of my letters home have been about him, he's just … never responded back to me as anything but a friend."

"I saw a gleam in his eyes when he was looking at you and the way he gave you a squeeze before he left. Just a friend … a couple of days, maybe a week without your school environment and other friends … we'll see, just friends. Keep in mind that your dad and I still think of you as our little girl, and I know he would like to keep that image going for a while longer."

"Little girl, huh? I bought a new dress in Edinburgh this afternoon that might ruin the little girl image. When I showed it to Harry, his imitation of a Black Moor goldfish was priceless."

"You must show me as soon as you get unpacked," Emma said as they arrived home. "All this went on today. A funeral, trip to Edinburgh, and the train ride to King's Cross doesn't sound like it could fit in one day."

"We weren't on the train, and a little bit of magic can accomplish amazing things. You do realize that I can now use magic any time I want."

Dan got the trunk out of the car as the women walked into the house chatting. Hermione let Crookshanks out of his carrier. Then the two women made their way into the kitchen and sat at a corner of the table talking quietly. Dan came in a few seconds later and sat across from Hermione. Emma was at the end. "Your trunk was very light. Did you leave half of your stuff behind at school?" asked Dan.

"No … Oh, Professor McGonagall expanded our trunks when we arrived at King's Cross, then made them lighter so they would be easier to move. I'll take it upstairs later. I was mentioning to Mum that I can now do magic out of school because I'm seventeen."

"Your Mother and I haven't seen you do any magic before, so we have no idea what's possible. Is a glass of water too difficult?"

"That's too easy Daddy, I hardly have to think." Hermione took three toothpicks out of the shot glass in the center of the table and spread them out in front of her. She pulled her wand out of her sleeve and with silent incantations, transfigured them into three crystal water goblets. Using a silent 'Aguamenti' charm, she filled each goblet with water, then levitated one over to her mother and another over to her father.

Hermione put her wand away and picked up her goblet, then took a sip. She watched both her parents look at the goblets. "Its just water, like you asked for," she said, then took another sip and put her goblet down.

They all went into the house. Harry took his things and Hedwig upstairs, delighting in the perplexed look Dudley had on his face when he carried the entire load using one hand on the bottom of the trunk. He then let Hedwig out before Uncle Vernon got a chance to lock the window. He told Hedwig to meet him at Hermione's house later. She gave him a light peck on his hand and flew off. Harry went down to the kitchen where Aunt Petunia was taking a leftover sandwich out of the refrigerator for Harry. He got himself a large glass of water and the sandwich and went upstairs without saying a word.

After Harry entered his room, he thought he'd have some fun with Uncle Vernon. He first tried locking one of the locks in the door using wandless magic and pointing his finger at the lock. On the third attempt he heard a satisfying click. He now had a better idea how much focus and concentration he needed and proceeded to lock all of the locks.

He lay down on the bed, not really watching the ceiling, but more daydreaming and going over the impossible events of this day. McGonagall's office … Albus's letter … the letter I still have in my pocket, later for that … Hermione … the new dress … my god … she's gorgeous in that dress … not that she looks bad any other time, but those school robes, even jeans and a t-shirt, just don't fill out like that dress. I can still remember vividly when I first saw her coming down the grand staircase to the Yule Ball in fourth year, wow. I couldn't really generate any interest in Parvati after that. I was just so mad at myself for not asking Hermione first. I'm sure it would have all turned out very differently. Nothing had changed between her and me. I'm just a big chicken, I guess. Excuses of not wanting to ruin one friendship or another aside, I'm a big chicken, I should've said something.

Get your mind off her. You've got other things to think about right now. When we were relaxing in the common room today, I found that smell again. I thought I'd smelled it before at The Burrow, but I never did smell it on Ginny. That flowery aroma I smell in Hermione's hair is exactly the same smell I detected in the cauldron of Amortentia in Slughorn's Potions class that first lesson. How dense can I be?

Snap out of it. You've got stuff to do before going over to Hermione's.

Vernon's knock on the door finally brought him back to reality. "You, in there, boy! How come this door's locked! Do you have a key? Open this door now!"

Harry concentrated very hard, pointed his finger at each lock until he heard a click, then at the knob and with a scritch sound the door slowly swung open with a little squeak from the hinges.

Vernon saw Harry lying on the bed with his finger pointed lazily towards the door and a smile on his face. "You know you're not allowed to do magic in this house and if you do, you'll get kicked out of that freak house they call a school. If you try any more magic around here, I'll lock you in that cupboard again, I swear I will!" Vernon said, his face as red as Petunia's lipstick.

"Uncle, I'm going out in an hour or two. I'll be gone until late tomorrow sometime, but I will return. I will lock this room solidly before I leave. I recommend you don't attempt to get in here." Harry said softly, "As for the freak house kicking me out, it's doubtful that the school will open next year, so that's not an issue I'm concerned about." Harry hoped to unnerve Uncle Vernon enough to get a little respect. Harry wiggled his finger, concentrating very hard on getting the door to close smoothly, and with a click of the latch, it shut. He used another spell to seal the door so no Muggle could open it.

Uncle Vernon tried to open the door, but it wouldn't budge. Vernon, still a little flustered, went downstairs and yelled "Come on, were leaving now!"

That little session took a lot of concentration and willpower. Harry's forehead was damp with perspiration. This wandless magic was getting a little easier, but it took quite a bit of effort. It would have been easier to get up and close the door, though that wouldn't have had the required effect on Uncle Vernon. Harry ate his meagre sandwich and had some water before unpacking his trunk.

Harry needed to make a list of things to do. Talk to Ron, talk to Ginny, go to Gringots, get some money, Bill and Fleur's wedding, apparition testing – talk to Mr. Weasley, my birthday, Godric's Hollow, returning to school, Luna's tea party, Hermione, Hermione … snap out of it, better start getting unpacked, then get ready to go.

To be able to call this home, he thought, most of my things need to be here. He took the new clothes out and put the boxes on the bed, then unpacked all the other clothes into his closet and dresser. Then he found his school bag and transferred the contents into the now empty trunk. He could use it to carry a change of clothes and stuff over to Hermione's. The trunk he got from Dumbledore and the pensieve were still tiny and sitting in his pocket. He pulled them out and put them on the bedside table with his wand. By the time he'd done all that, he still hadn't seen an owl from the Ministry, so he figured that Professor McGonagall must have been right, they couldn't trace wandless magic. Bag packed, fresh clothes laid out, time for a shower. He unsealed the door, opened it and crossed the hall to the bathroom and made himself presentable. Harry enjoyed the shower until the water started to cool, then he got out and dried himself.

Harry walked back to his room and closed the door. He got dressed in his new jeans and a shirt that had the same colours as Gryffindor house, which had startled him when he spotted it hanging on the rack in the store. He put his toothbrush, comb and toiletries in the bag, as well as the tiny trunk and the pensieve. Then he put his wand in the bag, _must not endanger those buttocks_. He grinned and wrote a quick note to Hermione.

Hermione,

I am ready to leave here any time. Introduce Fawkes to your parents so there won't be any unexpected surprises when I come over. I don't really want to make the grand entrance from a broom cupboard or bathroom; it lacks dignity. When you send Fawkes back, I'll come right over and try to end up standing beside you. Hedwig is on her way over. I sent her as soon as I got here. Please leave a window open, or listen for her.

Harry

Harry called Fawkes in his mind and moments later the big bird appeared in a flash of red. He landed on Harry's desk. Harry held up the folded note to Fawkes and said, "Please take this to Hermione" while inserting an image of Hermione in his mind. Fawkes took the note and, after launching himself off the desk, vanished in a red flash.

The Grangers were in the middle of pizza in the kitchen when Fawkes flashed into the living room and perched on the back of the sofa. He sent an image of himself on the sofa to Hermione.

"Oh my," said Hermione, "I wasn't expecting that."

"What's the matter dear?" said Emma.

"I think Fawkes is here with a message from Harry. I'll just check in the other room, be right back." She walked into the living room and over to Fawkes to take the note. Halfway through reading the note, she started to laugh, then motioned for Fawkes to perch on her shoulder and walked back into the kitchen. Blushing slightly she said, "I am supposed to introduce Fawkes to you."

After introducing her mother, Fawkes flew over and perched on Emma's shoulder, who was obviously still trying to work out whether this was actually a Phoenix. Then Hermione introduced her father and the bird flew over to his shoulder. Hermione handed the note to her Mum, who also chuckled before passing it to Dan. "I don't think we're quite ready for Harry yet," Hermione said to Fawkes. Dan looked at his daughter in disbelief, thinking that the bird couldn't possibly understand her.

"Do you want anything to eat or drink?" she asked Fawkes. Fawkes sent her an image of a small waterfall. "That might be a bit much, how about this," and she pulled out her wand and conjured a perch like the one Dumbledore had in his office, though not in gold, with a water dish on one side and a food dish on the other. Then using a silent 'Aguamenti' charm she filled the water dish saying, "Let me know what you want to eat." Fawkes flew over and landed, then took a drink of the water.

"Let's finish eating, then I want to see your new dress, before Harry shows up."

"My little pumpkin has a new dress?" questioned Dan. "What's the occasion and do I get to see? It's not often enough I get to see you in a dress. Either of you, for that matter."

"It needs to be shortened a bit, so could you pin it up for me Mum? Dad, I'll come down when we've got it pinned. I'll meet you in my room, Mum." Hermione walked out of the kitchen and over to her trunk. She picked up the trunk and as Emma came out of the kitchen, Hermione did a pirouette and with a pop, disappeared. Emma let out a scream that brought Dan to her side in a moment. All he could see was Emma pointing to the bottom of the stairs where he had left the trunk.


	5. Chapter 5 The Grangers

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the first 6 books in the Harry Potter series by J K Rowling belong to the aforementioned J K Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

A/N – Oct 10/06 – If you think you've read the first four chapters already and can carry on from here … you're wrong … it won't make sense … I've rewritten them on advice that it will make a better story.

**(5) The Grangers**

"What happened?"

"She just disappeared … trunk and all!"

After quickly putting her trunk down on her bed she rushed out her bedroom door to the top of the stairs and said loudly, "What's the matter Mum?"

Dan and Emma hurried to the bottom of the stairs and looked up to see her standing there. "You … you vanished … with your trunk."

"I'm sorry Mum, I didn't think it would scare you. What I did is called apparition, you vanish from one place and reappear somewhere else. Do you want to try it with me? It feels like you're being squeezed through a hose pipe and then you catch your breath at the other end."

"Maybe later dear … just … next time give us some warning, please."

"Yes Mum … I'll get into the dress now, come on up." She rushed back to her room, unlocked the trunk and threw it open, picked the dress out of its box and laid it out on the remaining bit of the bed. In a minute she was out of her jeans and top and into the dress, all before her mother came in.

"Oh my, I can see why he'd be in shock if he's only seen you in school robes, jeans and t-shirts. Yes … it's just a little long, I'll get some pins and be right back."

Five minutes later it was all pinned, Hermione magically fixed the length and the pins were removed. Then they went downstairs to show her dad. A few minutes later she was back in her jeans and t-shirt in the living room, and asked her Mum if it was time to send for Harry. Her Mum nodded.

"Alright Fawkes, go get Harry" she said to the bird, then he flashed out.

After a few minutes waiting, Harry realized that the Grangers weren't ready for him yet. He was still feeling hungry after the meagre sandwich, so he went to look around the kitchen for something more to eat. He nibbled on bits of this and that, trying not to make too obvious a dent in any one thing until Fawkes re-appeared.

"They're ready for me now, are they?" He asked Fawkes, "You're not going to apparate me into the shower?" Fawkes gave him a look that had to be the closest thing to exasperation he had ever seen on a bird, including Hedwig. "Let's do this from upstairs, since my bag is up in my room." He ran down the hall, around the corner and up to his room with Fawkes perched on his shoulder. He closed the door and wandlessly locked all Vernon's locks, then magically sealed the door again.

Harry picked up his bag of clothes and held his arm out for Fawkes to perch on. Fawkes moved down to his arm and Harry imagined himself standing beside Hermione … then he was gone in a flash of red flame.

"Mum, a word of warning. Harry is planning to appear right beside me. It may take a minute or two, if he's in the middle of something else right now. You'll see a flash of red flame and both Harry and Fawkes will appear. There won't be a popping sound like when I apparated upstairs."

Hermione was standing near the entrance to the living room, in the middle of a patch of empty floor to make it easy for Harry, and giving him plenty of clear space to appear on either side of her.

"Why can Harry do it silently?" asked Dan.

"When I did it, I was apparating myself and all wizards make some noise when they apparate. The better control you have, the less noise you make. I can apparate now because I'm seventeen and I have my apparition license. With more practice I can probably do it almost silently. Harry isn't seventeen yet and although he can apparate, he can't get his license. If it were anyone else, I'd have to go and bring him back with me, that's called side-along apparition. Harry … is quite special. The Phoenix that was here wants Harry to be his … I don't know … owner, I guess is close enough. The Phoenix will actually be bringing him here using a different sort of magic.

Legally Harry isn't supposed to do any magic out of school yet, because he won't be seventeen until the thirty-first of July. Because Phoenixes are so rare, the Ministry doesn't monitor their use for apparition, nor do they monitor wandless magic because that's usually only able to be practiced by fully qualified witches or wizards. Professor McGonagall told the two of us that we are now powerful enough to not need our wands. So as long as someone from the Ministry doesn't actually see Harry apparate with the Phoenix, or do wandless magic, he won't get into trouble, and after the end of July it won't be a problem anyway."

"We'll have to have a birthday party for Harry", said Emma. "That's going to be a very special day for him. I'm sorry we didn't arrange something special for your seventeenth," Emma said, sounding disappointed.

"That's all right Mum, Harry remembered," she said as Harry flashed in on her right side, startling everyone."

Fawkes flew off Harry's arm to find his perch. "Remembered what?" Harry said as he shifted his bag to his right hand and shuffled closer to Hermione while nodding hello to the Grangers.

"Nothing," said Hermione talking his hand in hers.

"Is that all you brought with you Harry?" asked Emma, "I thought you were staying a while."

"Oh, Yes. I have to stay at my Aunt and Uncle's tomorrow night according to Professor McGonagall, so there wasn't much point bringing more for just tonight and tomorrow. We'll have to discuss what you're comfortable with and talk with Ron and his parents tomorrow, then put together a plan for the summer, or at least the next week or two. I really appreciate your willingness to put me up on short notice. I hope I'm not interrupting any of your plans."

"We were hoping to spend more time with our daughter this summer than we've been able to in some summers past," said Dan.

"As am I," and Harry gave Hermione's hand a light squeeze. "However, it is not my intention to take all of your time with her. I don't expect you to treat me like a guest. Just treat me like family, if that works for you. When I'm at the Dursleys, I cook and clean, mow the lawn and weed the garden. Molly takes it easy on me when I stay at The Burrow, but I usually help Ron or the twins with whatever chores they're doing.

If I do something you don't like, or I'm making a complete nuisance of myself, or you just want some private time, please tell me. I do want us to get along.

"That sounds impressive from a teenager. I'm starting to like him," Dan said to no one in particular.

Emma smiled and said, "He cooks, cleans and mows the lawn. This one's a keeper honey, don't let him out of your sight."

Hermione blushed bright red, covered her face with her hands and with a near silent pop apparated to her room. For about a minute, it was so silent you could have heard a pin drop on the carpet. The blush had faded a bit when Hermione left her room and went to the top of the stairs. She yelled down, "Harry come up here and I'll show you your room. I'm not going down there until my parents promise to behave themselves."

"Uh … you should be careful," said Harry, "Ron had the marks on him for a week after she conjured a flock of cute little yellow canaries to attack him. I had better go up, and thank you." Harry walked over to the stairs and up, where he found Hermione standing against the doorframe of the guest room. He walked over to her and she took his hand and led him into the guest room.

"Pumpkin, your Mum and I apologize," said Dan, from the bottom of the stairs. "It's just that you're seventeen years old, and this is the only boy you've ever brought home, except for Crookshanks. We're just happy for you and I guess we're having a little fun with the occasion. I hope you and Harry can forgive us."

"We'll think about it," Hermione said in a teasing voice.

"Your Mum seems happy enough about me and I think your Dad is coming around too." He spotted Hedwig on the windowsill, so he went over and opened the window. She flew in and landed on Harry's shoulder and pecked him hard on the ear. "Ow! I'm sorry girl. Oh, I forgot your cage."

Hermione immediately pulled out her wand and conjured another perch, just like the one she made for Fawkes, and filled the water dish. Hedwig left Harry's shoulder, ensuring that her wing clipped him on the back of the head, landed on the perch and took a grateful drink of water. She then hooted softly at Hermione.

Harry said, "Done this before have you?"

"Yes, there's one just like it for Fawkes, in the kitchen."

"Been showing off your magical skills?"

"No! Well … I reminded them that because I am seventeen I can now use magic out of school and Dad asked if a glass of water was too difficult. So I made three crystal water goblets and filled them."

"It took a little coaxing to get them to drink the water, I think they were scared that it might not be real water."

"Then we ordered food. Half way through eating Fawkes showed up and I made him a perch so he would be comfortable while he waited. Then Mum wanted to see the new dress. Dad had put my trunk at the bottom of the stairs. I told Mum I would put on the dress and show her, so I picked up the trunk and apparated upstairs. Well, Mum screamed, I guess I should have warned her, then I called down from my room and she came up. I put on the dress and we shortened it a little, then I went down to show Dad."

"You look fabulous in that dress." Said Harry, "I think I've only ever seen you in two dresses and both times you've taken my breath away."

"Harry." She said softly, "Thank you." She wrapped her arms around him and gave him a hug. After a few moments they broke apart and Hermione said, "After I changed back into this, I sent Fawkes for you."

"No letters from the Ministry for using magic in front of your parents?"

"No, why should they?"

"Just asking. I did some wandless magic, locking and unlocking some locks and I sealed a door. It took quite a bit of effort and concentration, so I was sweating slightly afterwards. No owls arrived from the Ministry either. McGonagall must have been right about wandless magic not being traced."

There was a bed with a small table next to it, a dresser, a small desk and a couple of chairs in the room. He put his bag down on the desk then came back to her. They stood facing each other, they just stared into each others eyes for a while in blissful silence, just together, alone … until Hedwig gave a soft hoot and disturbed them.

Harry turned his head and looked past Hermione, through the window, realizing it was now dull outside. When he'd let Hedwig in, it was bright and sunny out there. How long had they been standing there?

Dan and Emma decided, since they hadn't heard anything from upstairs in a while and it was getting late anyway, that they were going to sleep. Emma was in the lead and as she passed Harry's room, with the door wide open, she saw them looking at each other, apparently in a daze. Emma smiled and winked at Dan so he'd know she wasn't concerned. Dan however, stopped at the door and cleared his throat loud enough to startle the couple. They split apart and faced the door, both blushing quite well. Harry moved a little in front of Hermione, though not blocking her view.

"Do you have any plans for tomorrow?"

"We have to talk to Ron, Ginny and Mrs. Weasley and then get Harry back to the Dursleys for the night," said Hermione.

"Alright, tomorrow's Sunday, so your mother and I will probably have a lie in. If you leave before we are up, leave us a note saying when you expect to be back. Oh, and move the bird out of the kitchen please."

With a "Yes Daddy," Hermione apparated to the kitchen and went over to Fawkes. Picturing in her mind Fawkes and his perch in Harry's room, Fawkes landed on Hermione's shoulder, she grabbed the perch and they vanished in a flash of red.

"You two popping in and out is going to take some getting used to," said Dan to Harry. "Is it dangerous, I mean can anything go wrong?"

"Yes, things can go wrong, and that's why you need a license, like driving a car. When we were learning, Susan Bones left a leg behind once, and when Ron was doing his first test, he left half an eyebrow behind. Though I've never driven a car, I expect it's much the same. You learn the basics and get your license, and as you get more practice, it becomes normal and natural. Hermione's always been quick at learning everything."

Dan looked at the floor where his daughter disappeared and saw nothing had been left behind, so he felt a little more relaxed. Then a silent flash of red flame revealed Hermione, Fawkes and the perch from the kitchen. Dan jumped, Harry smiled and Hermione said, "Sorry Daddy, I suppose this apparating is a little unnerving to you."

"I'll just have to get used to it. Good night kids." And Dan left.

Hermione gave Harry a quick kiss on the cheek and said, "Today has been really special for me Harry. I can't believe how happy I am. I'd better go and get some sleep. Night Harry."

"Goodnight Hermione," he said as she closed the door on the way to her room. _Love he thought, I wish I knew, I really don't want to share her with anyone. Today has been special. _Harry changed and got into bed. The last thought he had was someone saying "Dumbledore would have been happy to see a little more love in the world" and he fell asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow. He had happy dreams that night.

Hermione entered her room and closed the door, then leaned back against it. _She wanted Harry to notice her … to love her … He had put his arm around her and given her a squeeze … the way he looked at me a few minutes ago … I hope Mum is right, maybe he is starting to notice me more …why couldn't it have happened years ago … what is tomorrow going to be like … maybe it's time to put subtlety aside and hit him over the head with a club._

She went to her trunk, got her sleepwear out and levitated the trunk to the foot of the bed. After changing she climbed into bed, her mind still racing over the day's events. Frustrated with not getting to sleep, she grabbed the pillow from the other side of the bed and hugged it tightly, then thought to herself _pleasant dreams Hermione._ Soon she drifted off to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6 The Burrow

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the first 6 books in the Harry Potter series by J K Rowling belong to the aforementioned J K Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

**(6) The Burrow**

It was about ten by the time Harry showered and dressed. He'd used a silencing charm on the bathroom so as not to disturb anyone and he tried a wandless freshening charm on his clothes that he wore for a few hours yesterday, but it didn't seem to work. He thought he'd ask Hermione to do it when he saw her. He went down to the kitchen, which confirmed that no one else was yet up. As quietly as he could, he searched through the kitchen and started making bacon, eggs and toast.

Hermione's bedroom was over the kitchen and the smells rose up through the ventilation system and reached her nose first. The breakfast smells woke her and she absent-mindedly threw her school robes on over her nightdress before going down stairs. Expecting her Mum to be in the kitchen, she stopped at the door in stunned disbelief when she saw only Harry, cooking breakfast.

Harry had heard someone coming down the stairs and put some more bacon and eggs on the stove. "Hungry" he said as he buttered some toast, slid it all onto a plate, "Here you go, dig in; mine will be ready in a minute."

She slid an egg onto a piece of toast as she said "How did you find everything, I even have a tough time, well, Mum doesn't normally let me cook anything anymore. I used to keep starting fires where they weren't supposed to be." She giggled and smiled. "You see all the fire extinguishers in here, now you know why?"

"I wondered how come you were so good at those portable waterproof fires in first year."

Emma had noticed the aroma of breakfast and snuck down to the kitchen unheard. She was listening to this exchange from behind the door. She had been hoping her daughter wasn't trying to cook and was relieved and surprised to find Harry doing the cooking. She remembered that Harry said he cooked at the Dursleys; she just wasn't sure what all that included. She crept back to the stairs before saying ", you'd better not be anywhere near the stove", and Emma returned to the kitchen so the kids wouldn't know she had heard them.

"No Mum, the kitchen is safe, Harry's cooking." Hermione replied as he put some more eggs and bacon on. Harry filled up another plate and put it down in front of Emma as she took her seat.

Emma looked at Hermione's plate, then at Harry flipping the bacon and finally at her plate before saying "Thank you Harry, this is a complete surprise" and to her daughter "does it taste as good as it looks dear?"

"Better" she said as another forkful of egg and toast entered her mouth.

"Dig in, it's getting cold, should I put some more on for Dan?"

"He'll probably sleep for a while yet," said Emma.

"Not likely" came a low voice from the stairs, "smells too good, who actually got energetic enough to do more than put milk to cereal?"

Harry put the last of the eggs and bacon on the stove, buttered some toast for Emma and said, "Yours will be a couple of minutes Dan.", and then he started more toast.

Dan walked up to the table between his wife and daughter, and then reached down with both hands to steal a strip of bacon from each plate before wandering over to his normal seat. "Mmmm, nummy, if he keeps this up he'll have steady summer employment."

"Daddy!"

"Dan!"

"Oops, I'm in trouble now."

Harry laughed as he passed Dan a loaded plate, "This is a lot more fun when people aren't nit-picking at every little detail they can find to complain about." Harry finished loading his plate and sat down opposite Hermione, gave her a wink and started eating.

As they ate the days activities were organized, the Grangers were going out in the afternoon to visit relatives; Hermione would normally have gone with them if not for Harry. Harry and Hermione were going to The Burrow after a late lunch, and then they would floo to the twins shop in Diagon Alley, then Gringots, before winding up at the Dursleys, returning to the Grangers sometime Monday. Then Wednesday they would go to Luna's for tea.

When breakfast was done the Grangers, including Hermione, went back to their rooms and got dressed for the day, while Harry sent a note to Mrs. Weasley announcing that he and Hermione would arrive in the mid afternoon for a short talk with her, Ron and Ginny.

Hermione met Harry on the way to the living room where they sat together on the sofa to finish their plans. They would apparate to the orchard. Harry said he needed to talk to Ginny and Hermione would talk to Ron and Molly about the apparition testing and try to set that up for early Wednesday afternoon.

Hermione thought she'd check out Harry's response and said, "Harry, I don't want to lie to Ron … exactly … what I'd like to tell him is that I promised McGonagall to keep you company for the summer. Is that okay with you?"

"You did make that promise, but don't shut him out completely, we'll need his help. I think if we suggest that because of the breakup with Ginny, that I don't stay with them, at least until after the wedding when it will be less hectic there, it will make sense to him and Mrs. Weasley. We'll probably be over there fairly regularly anyway or have Ron with us.

"What are you going to talk to Ginny about; you did break up at the funeral … didn't you?"

"Yes." Said Harry in a tone that was unquestionable.

"Okay," … "just checking." Replied Hermione.

They sat there, mostly quiet, for several hours until Harry said, "Sounds like lunch time, I hear someone in the kitchen. I'll see if I can help your Mum." Giving her a squeeze he left for the kitchen.

"Hello Harry," said Emma, "I didn't expect to see you in here; I thought you two were glued to the sofa."

"I heard you in here and I thought I might help you with lunch if that's what you're up to?" Together they made lunch and Harry called Dan and Hermione to eat.

After Lunch the Grangers left to go visiting. Harry went upstairs to collect his bag and wand, Hermione picked up her wand, money and overnight bag and they slipped on their school robes before meeting downstairs.

"I'll lock up the front and meet you in the back yard", said Hermione, and a minute later she was beside him on the back step. "Now let's see you lock the back door wandlessly."

"Oh" he said as he scrunched up his face in concentration, pointed his finger and gave it a twist like he was turning a key. They both heard a soft thunk as the bolt fell in place. "It seemed easier today … I wonder why?"

They walked clear of the house, behind a tall hedge then Hermione side-along apparated Harry and her to the Weasley's orchard, out of sight of the house. They walked towards the Burrow slowly, discussing the details of what they were going to tell Ron and Ginny.

Moments after they came into sight from the kitchen, Ginny came running out to meet them.

"Go on ahead, I'll slow down and keep Ginny out here." Said Harry as he slowed his pace noticeably. Hermione sped up to a fast walk and the difference in speed made it appear that she was running to the house. Harry spotted a bench under a tree and angled off towards it. Ginny, seeing where he was heading changed direction too. As Hermione approached the kitchen she slowed. Ron and Molly came outside to greet her, and then they went back in and all sat at the kitchen table.

"Hedwig only just arrived with Harry's note saying you were both coming over. Hedwig's still here I think, resting."

"Yea, he's up in my room with Pig right now." Said Ron.

"Oh, Good", said Hermione.

"Now dear, what's this about you and Harry not being on the train?" said Molly

"The Headmistress wanted to talk to Harry and I asked if I could wait for him. She said Ron, Ginny and I could come along too if we wanted. Ginny and Ron chose the train and we were too late to catch it.

"What did Professor McGonagall want dear?" asked Molly.

"There were several things, I'll start out with apparition testing, Professor McGonagall talked to Wilkie Twycross about doing Harry's apparition testing early, he wouldn't actually get his license until his birthday, just do the test earlyarryhh

. She suggested we arrange to do it here at The Burrow in case Scrimgeour found out and wanted to make an issue of it, then it would look like Wilkie is doing Mr. Weasley a favor by finishing Ron's testing and Harry just happened to be here. Harry and I were thinking early Wednesday afternoon."

"Brilliant", said Ron, "And we'll all go over to Luna's after for tea."

"I'll talk to Arthur tonight; he can set up something with Wilkie for Wednesday afternoon. You and Harry come over for lunch then and it will be all set. If there are any problems I'll owl you."

Ginny ran up to Harry shouting his name and jumped the last few feet. Harry's seeker reflexes kept him upright when Ginny attached herself by wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist while planting her lips on his. Harry only returned a brotherly kiss and wouldn't let it go any farther. He brought his hands up to take her weight as she unwrapped herself and said, "Harry, what's wrong?" as she was put down on the ground.

"Ginny, I've got to talk to you and you're not going to like what I have to say."

"Considering I didn't really like what I heard yesterday, are you telling me this is going to be worse?"

"From your point of view, yes … this is worse."

"No … I love you Harry … we're meant to be together." her eyes began to glisten, "Harry and Ginny forever", and she began to cry though seeing the look on his face she knew it was no use. Ginny wrapped her arms around him, planting her face in his chest and sobbed, muttering in a ragged voice "no … no … no" over and over again.

Harry wasn't quite sure what to do so he let her sob away until she started to go limp. Then he held her up, sat her on the bench and sat beside her.

"I've been thinking about us for most of the last week. Yesterday I thought I was doing the right thing … then … I realized that … when I'm with you … I haven't been myself. This year I've been trying desperately to be a normal teenager and you were part of that package. The problem is … I'm not part of that package … I'm not a normal teenager … I'm not even a normal person. You're a bright, beautiful and passionate girl that any normal guy would be happy with … you're just not right for me."

"I still want to be able to come here … and I'd like us to remain friends … although I guess that will be a bit awkward for a while."

They just sat there together, Harry waiting patiently to see if Ginny could pull herself together.

"Albus left Harry a trunk full of stuff and a letter that I don't think he's read yet. His Will is not to be read until his portrait awakens. That should be around Harry's birthday."

"Are you two staying the night here?" asked Molly.

"Oh no, but thanks for asking. Harry has to stay at Privet Drive some of the time and I was going to stay with him … keep him company. I expect we'll be leaving shortly, can we use your floo to go to Fred and Georges shop?"

"Certainly dear, if that's all you need me for I've got a few things to do, I won't be far away."

"Thank you Mrs. Weasley."

"I could come over there too, when I'm not needed here." Said Ron.

"You certainly could Ron; you could help us do some studying for our project. You won't be able to do any magic there in case Harry gets blamed for it, we'll have to live like the muggles. McGonagall wants us to be very careful to keep Harry out of trouble. The only magic you can use is wandless magic. "

"Wandless magic … that's supposed to be really hard to do. I was hoping that keeping Harry company would be more fun; can't we spend more time here? We can do all kinds of things here that we can't do around muggles."

"It's going to make things awkward for Ginny if Harry's around here regularly Ron."

"I tried to get Neville to keep her company on the train, he likes her, and I think it worked, they were getting along alright.

"That's good news … maybe that will make the news Harry is breaking to her a little easier to manage."

"She thinks there's still hope for her and Harry. I suppose Harry's killing that idea."

"Yes, he is. I hope she doesn't take it too hard, she's had a crush on him forever."

"She's been in love with Harry Potter 'The Boy who Lived', since she was five."

"I think I know the answer to this, but I'm going to ask anyway. What about you and me … I mean is there any chance for us as a couple … or just friends?"

"Ron … all we ever did was argue, we never really resolved any of the issues we argued about … I think we're best friends and it should stay that way otherwise we'll kill each other."

"You're probably right." He sighed, "Anyway I think Luna is interested in me. We were talking and she walked with me on my patrols up and down the train."

"Really, and you didn't brush her off as crazy?"

"I still think she's a few cards short of a full deck, but I'm beginning to think it might be in a nice way. I'd like to see where it leads. It can't help but be interesting."

"Is there anything I should know about you and Harry? Harry was looking unusually happy at Kings Cross and you were looking great yourself."

"Well … no, I wish there was."

"Something happened in McGonagall's office, and later I tried to get us talking about our feelings for each other, but Harry changed the subject."

"Don't give up on him; I know he likes you more than he's letting on. He might be more scared of loosing you than anything. I couldn't figure out why you two didn't get together after second year. I still remember you coming back from the hospital wing, after being petrified, into the banquet and you gave Harry a big hug while I only got a handshake."

"I'm sorry", Hermione said sheepishly.

"Well, it was only second year after all. The end of last year when you were hit by Dolohov's curse, everyone thought that Harry was upset about Serious death, and he was, but only after he knew that you were going to be alright. I guess it's all explained now, the Hero always gets the girl … and no I'm not really mad, maybe a little disappointed that I didn't end up with you. I can't erhh

begrudge Harry his happiness … not with all the stuff he's had to put up with for his whole life."

"I'm impressed with your reaction; I expected to have to dodge a few hexes. Harry doesn't have to spend all his time at the Dursleys and McGonagall gave us permission to use the castle this summer. She also gave Harry and me our Headboy and Headgirl badges. I think that was more of a bribe to get us to come back next year after we told her we might not be back. We have to tell her by the end of this week if we're coming back or not."

"Here comes Harry and Ginny."

Ginny was starting to pull herself together. "Harry … how long are you staying here … today, tomorrow, all week or all summer?"

"Hermione should be done talking to Ron and your Mom soon and when they're done, she and I will leave. I expected you wouldn't want me around for a while and I have to return to the Dursleys anyway."

"Hermione? … Hermione! … Have you two! Are you?" screamed Ginny.

"Hermione is just following Albus instructions to keep me company so I don't go off the deep end with guilt and sorrow." Said Harry in a calm voice.

"But …"

"Enough Ginny! It was Albus request, Hermione is just following it. Besides you or Ron would just go nuts living in a muggle house and not be able to use the slightest bit of magic."

"It can't be that hard to go without magic?"

"Alright, what's the first thing you do in the morning if it's still dark?"

"Light a candle."

"With your wand?"

"Uh … yes."

"That's all it would take for the Ministry to expel me, snap my wand and have us both up in front of the Wizengamot for underage magic and using magic in front of muggles."

"Hermione knows how to live like a muggle, she was one, and she's over seventeen, so she can legally use magic if it becomes necessary."

"But …"

"Enough!" said Harry, "Come on, I'll walk you back. I think I should find Hermione, we need to be going."

Ginny walked in first, and ignoring Hermione, went straight through the kitchen and upstairs. Harry followed her in and said, "Hello Ron. Hermione, I think we should go when you're done here?"

"Hi Harry", said Ron, "We'll get together Wednesday for lunch; I want to talk to you both before we go to Luna's. Good luck with the muggles."


	7. Chapter 7 Diagon Alley

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the first 6 books in the Harry Potter series by J K Rowling belong to the aforementioned J K Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

**(7) Diagon Alley**

"Thanks Ron, we'll see you soon." Harry said, "Can we use the floo?"

"Yes, Mrs. Weasley said it was okay." Ron and Hermione got up and the trio went to the fireplace. Harry and Hermione took some floo powder and one at a time, tossed it in the floo, stepped into the fire, and said, "Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes". When they popped out of the floo seconds later at the joke shop. They greeted the twins and told George they would be back soon. As soon as they left Fred and George's they started to talk.

"Ron asked me if there was any hope of him dating me again … I had to tell him no, and he accepted it. Then he asked about you and me, he said he noticed us appearing too happy at Kings Cross."

"It certainly was a better end to the day than the beginning was." Said Harry.

"Yes … the interesting part that followed was that he seems to be getting along with Luna and he had asked Neville to get friendly with Ginny."

"I know Neville likes Ginny, but I think he was a little scared of Ron and me, so he didn't want to get too friendly."

"And Ginny said a few times that Luna liked Ron, but Ron never paid her much attention. Ron always acted like Luna was crazy."

"I was asked not to say anything, and Luna should tell Ron herself, I think, but did you ever wonder why Luna can see Thestrals?"

"Oh Merlin, now that you mention it, Luna didn't have any trouble with the Thestralls when we went to the Ministry that night did she?"

"No, she's been able to see them since she was nine. Luna saw her Mother die from a spell she was experimenting with, or so I was told", said Harry.

"Poor girl, anybody has a right to be a little strange after something like that. Speaking of strange … Ginny told me that Luna was very good at Divination. She got the only Outstanding OWL in the subject for the last 4 or 5 years."

"I wonder if Ron knows what he's getting into?"

They went to Gringotts hand in hand, Hermione stole a few quick glances over at Harry, but he didn't look back. It was as if Harry didn't realize they were holding hands.

Harry hadn't seen his vault since the summer before Sirius died, he had no idea how much gold he had left. He remembered Dumbledore said that Sirius had left him a 'reasonable amount of gold', however, he had no idea what that meant. He prayed it would be enough to hold out until he was able to kill Voldemort.

After entering Gringotts, they walked up the isle, along the counter until they found an available Goblin. The Goblin was writing something in a ledger and only looked up when they were in front of him.

"Hello I'm …" and that's as far as Harry got.

"Mr. Potter, how nice to see you again, one of the Bank executives wishes to talk to you, I'll see if he's free, one minute please", said the Goblin as he left.

"Oh Merlin, I wonder if I'm overdrawn?" Harry said.

"Really?", said Hermione, "Do you have any idea how much was left in there the last time you took any out?"

"I haven't seen the vault for almost two years, last year Bill got me some money and brought it to The Burrow; I would have thought he'd tell me if I was low on money … maybe he didn't know."

Two Goblins returned, "Mr. Potter, this is Griphook, he will take you to Ragnok if that's alright with you?"

"Very nice to see you again Mr. Potter, and your companion would be?" said Griphook.

"This is Hermione Granger, is it alright if she comes too?"

"Certainly, she is also expected, follow me please", and they followed Griphook across the floor and down several corridors to a very elaborate office. Griphook knocked on the door before opening it. "Sir, this is Harry Potter and Hermione Granger", he said to Ragnok, and then said "enter please and be seated", to the two teens.

"Greetings Mr. Potter, Miss Granger."

"Call me Harry, please sir."

"Harry … It is perhaps a bit early, but there are a few things you need to know. Albus Dumbledore has been looking after your finances and properties here until recently."

"I'm not overdrawn am I?"

"Heavens no Mr. Po … Harry, money is the least of your worries, unless, figuring out what to do with it all is a problem."

"Okay, lots of money, not a problem, and you wanted to see me about?"

"On your seventeenth birthday … not long from now … you will come into your full inheritance from your parents and Professor Dumbledore's estate. You already have the gold and property from Sirius Black, however, there is more from the Black estate that is being held up by the Wizengamot due to the current status of the two sisters of the Black family, Belatrix Lestrange and Narcissa Malfoy."

"How much do I have access to at this time?", asked Harry.

"Do you want me to say in front of your companion?"

Harry looked at Hermione and said, "I don't have any secrets from Hermione."

"Well … ", Ragnok paused as he checked the ledger in front of him, "relatively speaking a small amount … a little under half a million galleons in your trust vault as well as two properties. Number 12 Grimmauld Place and Number 4 Privet Drive."

The teens sat there in shock for a minute until Ragnok said, "I take it that was a little more than you expected."

"I own Number 4 Privet Drive?" Harry said still in shock.

"Yes, it was being managed by Dumbledore, I think he was letting your relatives live there rent free in exchange for looking after you", said Ragnok.

"I think it's time to start charging them rent!"

"Harry, take it easy, we'll figure something out, I have a few ideas."

"Can I have some sort of paperwork that tells me what I have and what I will be getting when I turn seventeen Sir?"

"Certainly Mr. Potter, and there's no need to call me Sir … though I do appreciate it, you'll find that most wizards look down on anyone that's not entirely human.

"Yes … and many so called pure blood wizards look down on half blood and muggle born witches and wizards.

"I think I'm going to like you, your thinking is similar to Dumbledores", said Ragnok, then he shouted, "Griphook!".

"Yes Sir", said Griphook as he entered the office.

"Make a copy of these balance sheets and the itemized inventory listings for me please", said Ragnok as he handed Griphook the large file folder he was holding.

"Miss Granger, I have heard good things about you also. Your intentions to free House Elves and your S.P.E.W. organization have impressed me. Not that I believe that most House Elves would make use of the freedom you envision, but better living and working conditions as well as some respect would go a long way to making them happier."

"There are many ways I can make life a little easier for those I like and I would like both of you to feel free to ask favors of me from time to time."

"Now I expect you came in here to get some gold from your vault, is that right?"

"Yes Sir, we did, and some muggle money too, but I need to rethink the amounts, could we have a few minutes to discuss this", Harry said indicating that 'we' meant Hermione and him.

"Yes of course, use my office, I have a few things to do that won't take too long. Ah, here's Griphook with your papers", and he turned to Griphook, taking the loose papers and the file folder. Ragnok passed the loose papers to Harry and asked, " Griphook, would you get our guests some tea and biscuits, thank you. Harry, the top page is your trust vault and the rest I'll explain to you when I return", and he left the two teens alone in the office.

Griphook came in moments later with the refreshments and goodies.

"Thank you", said Hermione as the Goblin left. They re-arranged their chairs and Hermione conjured a small table between them as Harry poured two drinks and brought them over. "There is a lot of gold in your vault, I mean; you said your parents left you some gold for school."

"Dumbledore said that Sirius Will added a 'reasonable amount' of gold to it. At the time I wasn't concerned with that or Dumbledore's definition of 'reasonable'.

"Maybe the balance sheets will tell us, we can look at them later, what did you want to talk over?"

"I was thinking that I could help Remus and the Weasleys with some of that gold, from the sound of it, that vault is a small amount compared to the total that I'll have in a month. Even then there is still enough in there to last for several years."

"That's very generous of you, but I don't think they'll take it willingly."

"I know the Weasleys have a vault here, but I don't know if Remus or Tonks have one?"

"No idea", said Hermione, "Why, were you going to transfer it directly to their accounts?"

"That was the idea … Ragnok will know", said Harry, "I was thinking of giving the Weasleys a quarter and Remus a quarter and then add your name to my vault."

"Your vault … my name on your vault", said Hermione as it dawned on her what Harry was intending, "You can't do that!"

"Your going to be stubborn just like the others are you?"

"I'm not stubborn; I just don't need your money."

"You'd rather the Dursley's get it if I die?"

"No … of course not, but …"

"Done then!" said Harry."

She launched herself at Harry and they wrapped each other up with their arms. Hermione pulled back slightly to look him in the eyes and said, "Put my parents names on there as well, because if you die, I'll probably be dead too."

"Hmmmm … very likely we'll all be together doing something, you're right, and Ron too."

"Don't start talking like that, we'll all be fine, we'll all have to get out of this alive."

"I have every reason to want both of us to survive this fight. I'm going to count on you to keep the three us from doing anything stupid, and I promise to listen to you from now on, unlike the Department of Mysteries … deal?"

Ragnok knocked, the teens split apart and straightened themselves out before Ragnok entered the office. "Have you had time to sort out what you want to do?"

"Yes, I think so", said Harry, and he proceeded to place a quarter of the contents of his school vault into the vault of Nymphadora Tonks. Remus couldn't get a vault because of his 'furry problem'. Another quarter went into the Weasley's vault. Then he added Hermione and her parent's names to his vault.

"I will need to see you on or soon after your birthday to sign some papers so the other vaults and property can be transferred to your name", said Ragnok.

"Now, finally some money, I'd like to get one thousand galleons and five thousand pounds."

"That amount of gold is going to be heavy, I'll give you one of our special moneybags, it will all fit in your pocket and weigh little more than the bag. Do you want to go down to your vault or should I send Griphook?"

"Hermione, have you ever ridden a roller coaster?"

"Yyess", she said tentatively, "why?"

"That's what the ride down to the vault is like … if you want to go then I'll go too?"

"That's okay, I think I'd prefer not to go this time. We can use the time to go over the rest of the ledgers."

Ragnok sent Griphook to the vault with Harry's key, and the teens discussed the other ledgers and inventory sheets, asking questions of Ragnok from time to time.

"Curiosity has the better of me", Harry said, "how does all this compare with other wizzards wealth?"

"Well … The Potter, Black and Malfoy vaults are roughly equal. If you get the full settlement of the Black estate and I expect you will, you will then have almost double the wealth of the Malfoys. The Dumbledore estate is our largest and is considerably larger. You will get the bulk of it in his Will. Ronald Weasley and Miss Granger here as well as a few others will get some of it too."

"Can you put a value to the Potter estate?"

"Page two will give you the vault balance and when you add in the properties and other items … roughly fifty million galleons.

With proper management you and your descendants will never have to work."

Both Hermione and Harry were having trouble with all the numbers at this point and Ragnok thought he should leave them alone for a few minutes so he said, "I'll be back in a couple of minutes", then left again.

"Harry, did you have any idea there was that much in here?"

"Hermione, all I knew about was the vault for school and what Dumbledore said about Sirius Will. The last time I saw the vault was the summer before Sirius died, it looked like it was shrinking fast, I didn't know if it would be enough for seventh year."

Ragnok returned with Griphook and handed Harry a small money bag that looked about the same size as the one he had used for the last six years. Harry opened it and put his hand in further … and further … soon he was up to his elbow before he touched a galleon. He reached around some more and found a bundle if paper currency that must be pounds. I do love magic he thought as he remembered the tent they stayed in at the World Cup and then the trunks he and Hermione enlarged yesterday.

"Thank you", Harry and Hermione said to Ragnok and Griphook.

"Is there anything else I can or need to do while I'm here", asked Harry

"Yes there is, I hesitate to suggest this as I have the utmost confidence in you, but you should consider a Will with a long list of names."

"See me as soon as you can once you turn seventeen and we'll get everything into your name. Thank you for stopping in and have a good day."

The teens left the office with something to think about and Griphook closed the door. Mr. Potter is as we have heard, modest and unassuming, it's hard to believe that everything rests on his shoulders", said Griphook.

As they were walking out of the bank Harry asked, "Are there any stops you want to make?"

"I have an idea for a couple of books to find, so Flourish and Blotts I suppose."

"Once we get to number 4 and drop off our stuff, we should go out and get some food to bring back so we don't have to starve while we're there", said Harry as they headed for the book store. We'll have to sort out your accommodations, and I expect there'll be a large explosion from Uncle Vernon about me opening his house up as a hotel for a bunch of freaks."

"You haven't told him then?"

"For some reason it never came up in the conversation. We never had much of a conversation until he realized I had done some magic. He started shouting that I'd be kicked out of the freak school, that's when I told him it probably wouldn't be open next year anyway so I didn't really care. That shut him up and he left … they all left for a show and supper. They left me with a dry old sandwich and water. Hopefully I put some fear in him. I went downstairs after they left and found some more food. I was eating when you sent Fawkes back."

"Oh Harry, that's terrible."

"What, that I was eating?"

"No silly, that they only left you with a sandwich."

"If I hadn't locked my own door, they would have done that too. Without Fawkes or wandless magic I'd still be stuck in that room."

"It makes my blood boil to think that they have been treating you that way and getting away with it."

"Now … a bedroom for me … what are my options?"

"There is a guest room, well, it's always referred to as Aunt Marge's room. She's the only one I've ever known to stay in there. It's about the same size as the room I stayed in at your parent's home and it's got a large bed. Two other options are the living room couch or stay in my room."

"Your room?" she queried, "With, or without you in it?"

"Your choice I suppose", he said quietly and she hit him on the arm with her fist.

"Ow", she said shaking her hand.

"What books are you looking for?" Harry said as they walked into Flourish and Blotts.

"I'm looking for wandless magic as well as occlumency and legilimency and if we happen to find something on horcruxes or the four founders that's useful we could get that as well."

"Alright, you look for wandless and horcruxes, I'll look for the rest." They split up.

Hermione found 'Introduction to Wandless Magic' quite quickly, but finding anything on Dark Magic was near impossible. It looked like all the books on Dark Magic had been removed from the shelves and she didn't want to ask the sales person. Harry was having more luck, 'The Beginners Guide to Occlumency and Legilimency' didn't take too long to find and he found books titled 'The Life and Times of Rowena Ravenclaw' and one on Godric Gryffindor, both of which had a lot of drawings and pictures.

They paid for the books, Hermione shrunk them and Harry put them in his pocket before they left the shop and they headed to the Leaky Cauldron.

Hermione tapped on the bricks to open the passage to the Pub and they entered through the back room. Tom, the barman, said, "Hello Harry, I haven't seen you for ages."

Harry said, "Hi Tom, it's nice to see you're still here. Can we have a couple of butterbeers?"

"Looks like business is slow, or is it always this way now?", said Harry.

"It's always like this now, most people are scared to go out and when they do, they don't stop for food or a drink. They do their shopping and go straight home."

"It's all Voldemorts fault", said Harry angrily.

Tom cringed, "Don't say his name!"

"Why … Dumbledore used his name. I've met him … and I've fought him and I'm not scared of his name."

"You kids enjoy the butterbeers, they're on the house", said Tom as Harry dropped two galleons on the counter. They found a table in the far corner.

"I have an idea and I don't know if it makes practical sense. If I rent a room here we would have a place that we could come and go from without creating suspicion. We would have access to Diagon Alley and London and someplace to stay or store stuff if we want to. Otherwise, from your house or mine we have to travel through Hogwarts, The Burrow or Fred and Georges shop. I'd prefer the Weasleys didn't see us together too much for now or know about Fawkes, which suggests the need for a Weasley free apparition point, at least for the next few weeks."

Hermione thought about the idea for a moment and replied, "If Tom or anyone sees us going up and down only once every few days, they're going to wonder what we're doing in there for the rest of the time. How often do you think we're really going to need it in the next few weeks? I probably could have found these books in the Hogwarts Library, though I'd prefer to own them."

"I knew there was something wrong with that idea. Any suggestions on giving your parents their vault keys or how to tell the Weasleys and Remus of their bonus?"

"We can do that tomorrow on our way back to Oxford."

"Is that where we were?"

"Yes, oh … I guess I never told you did I."

"I believe you omitted that detail."

"It didn't stop you from getting there", she snickered.

"After the butterbeers are we off to Privet Drive?"

"Yes, but two things to sort out first so we don't look like idiots in front of your Aunt and Uncle. First, which rooms?"

"If you take my room, that shouldn't create a problem. If there's trouble about me using Aunt Marges room then it'll be my problem to deal with.

"I'll help you deal with it."

"I know", said Harry.

"We should go", and they walked hand in hand back to Diagon Alley. They separated before they were in sight of the twins shop and entered with Hermione in the lead. "Fred", said Hermione, "Can we use your back room to apparate from?"

A/N - I haven't asked for reviews before ... so I will now! I am averaging 1 review per chapter. Please throw the dog a bone even if you don't like the story.

Thank You


	8. Chapter 8 Harry's Room

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the first 6 books in the Harry Potter series by J K Rowling belong to the aforementioned J K Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

A/N: Thanks to all who reviewed the last chapter and all the previous chapters. I have only missed responding to 2 reviewers so far and I would like to thank them now. One didn't inspire a lengthy reply and the other had a faulty reply address. I am not a review hungry person, however, some of the early reviews caused ... no not caused ... made me re-think what I was doing, thus the re-write from the beginning. The reviews since then have confirmed the changes were right. Reviews do make a difference, you get a better story.

**(8) Harry's Room**

"I'm George, and yes you can, but I'll have to lift the wards before you try."

"Don't bother", she said.

"You don't want to know what those wards will do to you, it's rather nasty."

"Trust us", said Hermione as George showed them to the room.

"Are you sure?" said George, "I want to see this, I may be laughing, but you won't think it's funny if I don't lift the wards."

"Okay George, watch and laugh if you want, but don't tell anyone how we do it, agreed?"

"If you can do it, you've got to tell me how."

"It'll be obvious when you see. Here goes nothing."

Harry took Hermiones hand, and then silently called for Fawkes. After the flash of red flame in the air and a gasp from George, Fawkes landed on Harry's' shoulder.

"That's Albus phoenix", screamed George startling the red and gold bird.

"You promised not to tell anyone."

"I've got to tell Fred, but no one else, I promise." Then in a rather large flash of red flame they were gone, re-appearing in Harry's bedroom.

"The look on Georges face was priceless", said Hermione, laughing, "Stunned disbelief."

Laughing, Harry said, "Who did he say was going to be laughing?" Harry spun Hermione around a little too energetically and she fell into him reaching her arms around his neck to steady herself.

Harry started to topple over backwards. Fawkes, who was still on his shoulder, apparated them over to the bed. He was holding onto Hermione as if their lives depended on it. When she felt Harry falling backwards, she opened her eyes to see the bed rushing up to her. She closed her eyes while holding tighter and waited for the crash. Harry bounced twice before his movement stopped.

"You alright?" he asked.

"I don't know", was all she could whisper.

"I'm going to roll over and loosen my hold on you", he said in a concerned voice. He slowly rolled to the right and gently released Hermione until she was lying on her back. She looked alright, no bloody nose or anything else that was obvious. Harry gently moved his finger tips over her forehead, nose, cheeks and chin to see if anything hurt. The only reaction he got was a little moan as a finger tip brushed her lower lip.

She finally opened her eyes, albeit slowly, to see a look of absolute concern in his. "You didn't hurt me", she whispered as quickly as she realized what was going through his mind.

As soon as Harry realized Hermione wasn't injured he took a quick look around then back at her. It was then that Harry heard his Uncle as he climbed the stairs, "You, boy, what's all the racket and when did you get home?"

Harry managed to sit up; Hermione was still catching her breath as Uncle Vernon hammered on the door. Harry unlocked and unsealed the door just before it burst open.

"A few minutes ago we heard all kinds of banging and crashing from up here, the tele and lights went out for a minute, when I got to the bottom of the stairs I could see light under your door and knew you must be here", Vernon just realized that he was explaining himself to Harry so he stopped. "When did you get in, I didn't hear the front door open?" It was then that Vernon noticed someone behind Harry. "You, who are you and what are you doing here?" Hermione sat up, mostly recovered, and faced Vernon.

"Hello, my name is …"

She never got to finish as Vernon screamed, "You're bringing your little school tramps here now are you boy, she's not staying in my house, and especially not with you!"

Harry never really moved, but his glare at Vernon grew deeper when he called Hermione a 'tramp', Vernon lifted off the floor, broke through the door behind him and was pinned mid way up his own bedroom wall. Petunia and Dudley had arrived by then, took a look at Harry and followed his gaze to find Vernon. Petunia screamed and Dudley fainted.

First of all Uncle Vernon, you don't own this house, I do, and you've never paid a pence in rent … ever … so I don't think that gives you much say in what happens and who goes where. We expect to be fed properly while we are here. Hermione will stay in my room and I'll stay in Marge's room. If there's any trouble, Hermione has my permission to turn you all into mice and she can feed you to her cat or my owl for all I care. Harry motioned towards the window with his hand and as it opened Hedwig flew in. Not finding his cage in the usual spot he perched on Harrys shoulder.

I'm going to let you down now Uncle Vernon, you might want to brace yourself for the landing. Harry slowly eased up on the magical force he was using to hold his Uncle against the wall and Vernon slid down jerkily as Harry tried to adjust the force to keep him from falling. Vernon landed in a crumpled heap on the floor, not even trying to stand up.

Hermione's face was a picture of shock and surprise once she grasped what had happened. The amount of magical energy radiating off Harry was making the air around him crackle and shimmer

She wrapped her arms around Harry's chest and said, "Harry, calm down, take it easy, you're using a lot of magical energy." She rubbed her hands up and down his left arm hoping to calm him down.

Petunia looked around when she heard Hermione. She saw the shimmering air and heard the crackling sounds emanating from Harry and backed up through the shattered door towards Vernon.

"Mrs. Dursley, Harry doesn't want to hurt anyone … Mr. Dursley just made him mad, I don't think he's hurt", said Hermione in a timid sounding voice to try to calm Petunia. Hermione was still trying to calm Harry down by rubbing his arm with one hand and his back with her other hand while resting her head on his shoulder.

"Harry!. Look at me Harry! Harry!" She placed her hands on the sides of his face and gently turned him to face her. The crackling noise slowed to a stop and the shimmering went away. A look of peace filled his face and he relaxed using her for support. Hermione eased Harry back onto the bed and told him to relax before she went in to see if Mr. Dursley was alright.

Between Petunia and her they got Vernon onto the bed, he was just dazed, but he had a good lump on the back of his head. Hermione got a glass of water from the bathroom and poured it on Dudley's face, he then sputtered back to life and scurried away.

Hermione got another glass of water and took it in to Harry. He was sitting up again and took the glass from her.

"Thanks sweetie, how's Uncle Vernon?"

She looked surprised and pleased at being called 'sweetie' and said, "He'll be okay, a lump on his head and a couple of bruises to remind him to be nicer. How are you feeling, that must have taken a lot out of you?"

"I'm feeling a bit tired, but mostly hungry, Lets walk over to Mrs. Figg's, then we can floo to the Leaky Cauldron … seems like we just left there." They took off the robes that they had been wearing all day and now just had their muggle clothes on. Leave your bag here, I'll lock the door and straighten up the room later. "Aunt Petunia, would you like me to bring back fish and chips for the three of you as well", Harry asked.

"You would do that … after this?" She waved her hand around, first to Dudley trying to hide behind the shattered door, ending at Vernon trying to sit up on the side of the bed.

"Peace offering", he said, "five orders of fish and chips coming up. We'll be back shortly." Harry did a wandless 'reparo' to Petunia's bedroom door and it reassembled itself, then he waved his hand at his bedroom door, it closed and he did a silent, wandless 'colloportus' to seal it. They walked down the stairs and out the front door before joining hands to walk to Arabella's house.

"Harry," she said, "Do you have any idea what you looked like when you shoved your Uncle through that door and onto the far wall?"

"I looked like something?"

"You know how the air shimmers around something very hot?"

"I was hot?"

"Well … no you weren't burning my fingers. The air around you was shimmering and there was a crackling sound like … the snap of an electric arc, but continuous … constant … buzzing."

"Wow"

"You are very powerful Harry, like McGonagall said, but now you need to learn to control it and use it effectively. We should spend more time at Hogwarts this summer. Ron can join us and you two can practice magic while I try to research these horcruxes.

"This is the house", said Harry as they approached it.

Mrs. Figg opened the door as they were about to knock, "Hello Harry and this must be Hermione if I'm not mistaken. Come on in, what brings you by, I hope your relatives didn't see you come here."

"I don't think they saw us, we came by to use your floo if we can?" Said Harry.

"Certainly my dear boy, floo powder is in the bowl on the mantle, help yourself."

"We're going to order fish and chips from the Leaky Cauldron, have you had supper yet?"

"No, I was thinking about it though."

"We'll get some for you too?"

"That's not necessary Harry."

"We'll be back soon Mrs. Figg", said Harry as they flooed to the Pub. Hermione came out of the fireplace in the Leaky Cauldron first and was brushing herself off as Harry appeared. She finished brushing him off as they approached the bar. There were now a few people in the Pub, but not many.

"Hello Harry, Hermione what brings you back today?" Asked Tom.

"Supper", said Hermione.

"Could we have six orders of fish and chips to go", said Harry, "and how much?"

Tom called the order into the back, waking up the cook and said to Harry, "two galleons and six sickles, it'll take a few minutes, the cook was asleep."

The two sat at a nearby table and started talking. They both laughed and talked about other things for a few more minutes until Tom brought their food over. They took the floo back to Mrs. Figg's and left her with some of the food before ending up at the Dursley's.

Petunia had set five places at the table while Vernon grumbled about freaks and weirdo's. When the teens arrived Harry split up the food and they all sat at the table. Harry and Hermione, being quite hungry, went at their food with a vengeance. Petunia then tried it, found it to be excellent and encouraged the other two to eat.

When Hermione had finished, Harry spoke, "I expect to stay here no less than one full day each week until my birthday for the purpose of maintaining the protection charms that Dumbledore placed here, those protections expire on my seventeenth birthday. Hermione will be using my room and I'll be using the spare room that Aunt Marge uses when she's here. The rooms will be sealed when we're gone. You are not to attempt to enter them at any time."

"Also, there will be no derogatory name calling, if you can't call us by our given names then don't call us."

"Does anyone have any questions?" Harry waited a few moments and said, "I take it you understand and there will be no problems."

"No problems", said Petunia, "and you friends name is?"

"Ah, introductions, yes, Hermione, this is Aunt Petunia, Dudley and Uncle Vernon." Hermione said hello to each of them, then Harry carried on. "Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, Dudley, this is Hermione Granger, my friend and witch extraordinaire", at which point the three Dursleys mumbled hello.

"Hermione, my dear, I think it's time we left these good people in peace and got settled in." He gave Hermione a tour of the house, then unsealed his room and opened the door.

"This just feels strange", she said, "I can legally use magic, but I don't dare use my wand here, and you, who aren't supposed to use magic, are doing all the wandless magic you can, and getting away with it."

"I know what you mean; I cringe every time I stop to think about it, the amount of magic I used to send my uncle flying through the air should have triggered something."

"The magical energy you were dissipating in this bedroom was enormous; I'm surprised you didn't collapse from exhaustion."

"I couldn't believe it worked, not that I was consciously trying to do it, but when he insulted you … that was too much … there was a lot of emotion at that moment, and it just happened, like accidental magic when I was younger."

"Back to the previous subject … have you tried wandless magic recently?"

"No, besides I can use a wand", she said

"If someone takes your wand away", he said as he reached out and her wand flew to him. He then held it out in his opened hand for her to retrieve.

Hermione looked at her wand and concentrated on it. It jumped and twitched then finally fell out of Harry's hand. "This is hard, or I'm not doing it right, maybe if I read the book."

Harry handed her back her wand and said, "I'll take my stuff to Marge's room then meet you in the back yard. We can read the book together or you can bring another one for me. If you'd prefer, we could just go for a walk, that's what I usually do in the evenings when I'm here."

"A walk sounds good; I'd like to get a look at the neighbourhood."

"Meet you downstairs whenever you're ready."

They walked around for nearly three hours. It was getting quite dark by the time they returned to number four. Harry showed her where the dementor attack occurred and the school he went to, the playground and swings. After that they came up to some stores and a small theatre. He pointed out some of the homes he knew and the ones that housed members of Dudley's gang. Anyone that came near crossed to the far side of the street prompting Hermione to ask why.

"Uncle Vernon told anyone who would listen that the reason I wasn't in school with the other kids was because I was sent to St. Brutus's Secure Center for Incurably Criminal Boys" said Harry.

"That's terrible!" shrieked Hermione, "How could he …"

"There's not many muggles that will even come near me … around here anyway. Of course when they see a pretty girl like you, hanging around with me, they might try to warn you off.

"I'm not pretty, I'm as plain as girls come!" She said, "And this bushy hair is terrible, I hate it."

"Didn't your Mum ever tell you not to argue with a compliment when a friend says you're pretty?"

"Mum must have forgotten that one, I don't remember it."

"You can be drop dead gorgeous when you want to be, the rest of the time you're the prettiest girl at Hogwarts."

"Is that the first time I've said that to you?"

"I think so Harry, and thank you, you're the best, most generous and handsome guy a girl could ask for. I love you Harry", she whispered and leaned into his arm.

"Mmmmm", he whispered back in contentment, not really thinking what he was saying.

They eventually found their way back to number four; Harry suspected it was more by dumb luck than good management as he wasn't paying much attention to where they were. He was simply enjoying Hermione's company.

They walked around the house to the back and sat on the bench seat behind the house. Harry was about to close his eyes when he spotted a tabby cat sitting on the fence on the opposite side of the yard. He whispered to Hermione that McGonagall was sitting on the fence, then he whispered, "Together … three … two … one", and they both said, "Good evening Professor McGonagall." Then they both giggled.


	9. Chapter 9 McGonagall's Watch

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the first 6 books in the Harry Potter series by J K Rowling belong to the aforementioned J K Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

A/N: - I would like to thank those that reviewed the last chapter and all previous chapters. I would also like to thank all that have read the story so far. The next chapter might be a couple of weeks away.

**(9) McGonagall's Watch**

The tabby cat jumped down from the fence and walked towards the two teens, about half way across the yard she transfigured back into their Headmistress. "I wanted to make sure you got back here, and then I kept an eye on you for a while. I visited with Arabella when you went to the Leaky Cauldron. I'm not trying to spy on you, I just wanted to be sure you're alright, and I can see the two of you are doing just fine together."

"I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing that you are going to have your own quarters and common room next year. Hermione, come walk with me, I need to make sure you understand something."

Hermione gave Harry a 'now what' look and rose to go with McGonagall.

As soon as they were out of Harry's hearing range Professor McGonagall said, "I believe that soon you and Harry are going to be more than friends. It has been obvious to me for years that the two of you will end up together, is that what you want?"

"Ummm … yes." Replied Hermione in little more than a whisper while looking away from the Headmistress. "I can't seem to get any reaction from him … well nothing significant anyway. I tried to bring up that image he received from Fawkes and he changed the subject."

"That's not entirely unexpected; anyone he's cared for has been taken away from him, his parents, Sirius and now Dumbledore. You may have to take the initiative at some point and show him how you truly feel. I think you'll find he has to be shoved … knocked off the fence, so to speak, I'm certain you won't be disappointed. You've undoubtedly noticed the hints, his eyes watching you from across a room, him finding your hand and holding it as you walk. The signs are there.

"Yes, I know … the signs … it's the waiting that's going to kill me." She sighed. "You think I should give him a shove, push him over the edge."

"Harry seems resigned to leave it as friends, whether he believes that's how you want it, or if he's scared of loosing you should romance fail, I can't be sure."

"Now that brings me to the main point I wanted to talk to you about."

Hermione remained silent waiting for Professor McGonagall to speak, "I hope a smart girl like you has already thought about this, but I have to be sure. The contraceptive potion and charm are not going to be effective."

"I've already figured that out. Is there anything that will work?"

"My position as you can appreciate is to discourage that kind of activity, though I know it goes on. I'm not sure about muggle birth control medicines, however, I suspect they may not work either. The only things that have worked before are muggle condoms and I understand that they are not perfectly safe either.

"I hadn't considered that method. Would you ask Madam Pomfrey for me, if there are any other possibilities?"

"Certainly dear." Replied McGonagall, "You're more than welcome, is there anything you want to talk about?"

"Actually yes … wandless magic, Harry's been able to do quite a bit of it, and it seems to come quite naturally to him now, is that to be expected?"

"Have you been able to keep up with him?"

"I haven't really tried it, but I got a book on it today. I haven't had a chance to read it yet."

"Of course you did, I should have known. It differs from wand magic only in how you think of it. It's something like apparition, you don't have to say a spell, it's more concentrating on the object and the result you want, while mentally focusing your magic to the object. Once you've done it a few times your mind will know what it has to do and the more you do the easier it gets. You don't have to say the spell, though it might be easier at first."

"What about Defense against the Dark Arts spells like stunners and shield charms?"

"Oh yes, all that too and transfiguration, anything you can do with a wand can be done without one. Before we knew how to make wands that focus our magic, it all used to be done without a wand. A wand allows those with lesser powers to be able to use magic, otherwise only the most powerful of us would be able to do magic."

They had made their way around the house and back to Harry. When Hermione was standing near Harry she asked, "Can the Ministry really not detect wandless magic even if the amount of power that's used is considerable?"

They can detect all magic, but they can't locate its source without the signature that's applied to it by a wand. In theory they shouldn't bother with you doing magic here with your wand, but if you used Harry's wand I expect they'd be forced by one person or another to make a big deal out of it. I would prefer if you didn't use any wands here at all. Now Harry, Hermione tells me you're quite accomplished at wandless magic already, would you care to demonstrate for me?" Said McGonagall.

"Of course Professor, anything specific that you'd like to see?"

Looking at Hermione, McGonagall said, "Do you have your wand", and Hermione pointed to her left sleeve.

Harry held out his left hand almost lazily and Hermione's wand zipped out of her sleeve and into his hand. He then held out his right hand and acquired the Professors wand just as easily. He returned them both and, holding out his right hand palm up he conjured a candle floating just above his palm and removed his hand leaving the candle in mid air, then lit it.

"Very good Potter, you're getting on well with that, I shouldn't need to suggest that you help Miss Granger catch up to you. When you both come back in September, I suggest you use a wand for classes so the other students are not aware of your abilities without one. You could be at a disadvantage if Voldemort is made aware of your abilities."

"I could use a stick and no one would know", he said as he conjured a simple wooden replica of his wand.

"You certainly could, the point is so that no one realizes that you are doing it without a wand so that would be perfectly fine."

"Professor, would you please teach us to become Animagi?"

"There are not many wizards that can, or want to become Animagi. Just so you know, apparition is relatively easy compared to transfiguring yourself into an Animagi form. Do you have any plans to visit the castle soon?"

"Yes, but no dates yet, Luna is trying to get the six of us that fought at the Department of Mysteries together later on Wednesday afternoon, and earlier that afternoon Mr. Twycross should be testing Ron and Harry at The Burrow", said Hermione.

"Luna … interesting, very clever, but she comes up with the oddest ideas. She probably gets them from her father; he was the same way when I knew him. My feeling about divination notwithstanding, Sibyll believes Luna may be a good seer."

"Ron has taken a fancy to her lately, I wonder what she has in mind", said Hermione.

McGonagall said, "Luna could make a good addition to your group, I take it Neville and Ginny are invited also?"

"Yes", said Harry, "I guess Neville has a right to be with us based on the prophesy. He and Ginny are also good fighters. What do you think", he asked Hermione.

"We could use the help; the question really is how many people do we tell about the mission?" Answered Hermione, "Do you have a problem, Professor, if the three of us become six?"

"Let me know what happens and I'll do my best to work with you. Luna and Ginny are a year behind you so they'll have to do their normal classes. Have you decided about coming back in September?"

"We haven't made a final decision yet, but we think it's a good idea to return in September", replied Hermione.

"Good", said McGonagall, "I or one of the other order members will try to keep an eye on you while you're here."

"Tomorrow afternoon I think we're going back to my house."

"My time here is up, I have a meeting, someone else should be along shortly and Mrs. Figg will keep an eye out during the day. Try to let her know when you leave and I'll transfer the watch to Oxford." She transformed into her tabby cat form and scampered over the fence and into the neighbour's yard.

"What did you two talk about on your walk?"

"You and me … us." She said, hoping for a reaction. "Help me with some wandless magic."

"Done", said Harry, "You started me off with a candle", and he conjured one and floated it in the air, "and since fire is your specialty it should be relatively easy."

"What exactly would you do?"

Harry conjured a second candle and said "concentrate on the candle so all you can see is the candle and then imagine a flame on the candle and hold it there for a bit before relaxing."

Hermione did just as he said except that instead of blocking everything out that wasn't the candle, she made the candle fill the image in her mind. When she applied the flame to the image in her mind the flame she created was several times the size of the actual candle and melted the candle in a few seconds with a woosh of fire." When she opened her eyes to see the results there was a wall of water in front of her about three feet wide and six feet tall, and Harry, off to the side, looked a little singed in places.

Harry moved the wall of water away from her, over the smoking remains of both candles to extinguish them and over to himself, and he passed through it to cool off.

"Harry!" She screamed, "Are you alright!" She ran to him as he passed through the wall of water and put her hands up to his face, gently touching his cheeks and quietly asked, "What happened?"

"You lit the candle just fine; the flame was a little larger than it needed to be. Did you have your eyes closed?"

"Yes, I was trying to concentrate …"

"Let's try something that's not related to fire, why don't you conjure a few canaries and I'll get rid of the wall of water. Keep your eyes open this time; I don't want to see a five hundred pound canary." Harry smiled, leaned down and gave her a peck on the cheek.

She concentrated on one canary and imagined it appearing in front of her. When it popped into view it was about twice as big as it should have been, she adjusted the size in her mind and it became normal. She conjured five more, one at a time and each was a perfect duplicate of the first. They were tweeting and singing all over the back yard. Harry gave her a hug and she knew he was happy, she was relieved.

"You're not going to have any problem with wandless magic that a little practice won't cure", Harry said as he walked over to the bench, he sat straddling the bench. When you're ready come here."

Petunia had been watching the scene unfold from the kitchen window. The teens sat on the bench, the cat that became a rather stern looking older woman, who had later walked off with the girl, only to reappear from the other side of the house. They talked for a while and the woman turned back into a cat and jumped the fence. Then some magic and that huge flame scarred her. Petunia saw Harry scorched by the edge of the flame, but somehow a wall of water protected the girl. The love they shared was so obvious, and he would do anything to protect her. It reminded her so much of her sister and that other Potter boy. If only she could have shared that depth of love with Vernon, how different it might have been. She thought she saw something odd, she blinked and looked again, the background around them appeared to be moving, shimmering. Petunia gave up watching and went back to her cleaning.

"That should be good enough for now", said Hermione, "I want to look at those books we picked up today before it gets too late."

"That sounds like a plan; I want to look at the wandless magic book, do you want to try the occlumency book?"

"Shouldn't that be the other way around?" She asked as they went inside.

"I thought you'd say that … no … I think this is the right way, at least for the occlumency. Since I never did get the hang of it and you'll probably figure it out quicker than me, I think you should tackle it. You'll have a fresh mind with no preconceived ideas."

As they walked upstairs she asked, "how will we know if the occlumency is working if we don't learn legilimency?"

"Good point, that's where you need to start, and I guess I'm the guinea pig to test your skills on. A word of caution, this mind has witnessed some very nasty things that I would prefer you to never have to see. On the flip side, there are some fantasies in there that you star in."

"Ooohhhhh … now I have an incentive to learn legilimency."

They found the books, Hermione sat at the desk and Harry lay on the bed. They studied in quiet for about two hours. Occasionally he would try the things that were in the book on wandless magic and make appropriate noises if they worked or didn't. Hermione just kept on reading in silence.

"Harry, I think I'm ready to try this, do you mind?"

"Go for it", he said as he looked up. Harry pictured in his mind the scene from a few hours ago of them happy and sitting on the bench.

They looked at each other face to face, eye to eye and Hermione whispered, "Legilimens" and tried cautiously to find her way into Harry's mind. Nothing seemed to happen until she put more mental effort behind it. Gradually an image formed in her mind and she sensed the feelings associated with it. Hermione smiled as the image came together with the feelings and she knew just how happy Harry was at that moment.

She broke eye contact as she got up and virtually flew at the bed. Harry saw her coming, his seeker reflexes coming to play as he rolled over onto his back to catch her when she landed on him. She knocked the wind out of him and planted her lips on his before he could get a breath. Her hands and arms were all over him trying to get a solid grip as he squirmed trying to get some air.

"Er … my … nee …geroff … ", was as much as he could get out before she rolled off him, giggling, then laughing. About a minute later he was still trying to catch his breath and Hermione was still laughing and now crying a few tears of happiness. "What … in Merlins … name was … that all about", he said between breathing.

"Oh Harry … that was so beautiful."

"What, us sitting … on the bench", he got out between breaths.

"No … well, yes … I got a sense of your feelings as well, you were happy, very happy."

"Of course, your wandless magic was perfect, why shouldn't I be happy?"

"It's getting late", she said, "Tomorrow, you learn legilimency, good night Harry."

Harry said, "Good night, lock the door after me", he gave her a kiss on the cheek, then picked up his things and left for the other room.


	10. Chapter 10 Nightmares

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the first 6 books in the Harry Potter series by J K Rowling belong to the aforementioned J K Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

This chapter, although longer than the first is a little shorter than average ... I couldn't resist ending it where I did, sorry. If you hate cliffys, the next chapter will be up soon, perhaps hours - no longer than a day. Thanks to all who have reviewed, I have responded to everyone I could. I would very much like to respond to more of you if you'd care to leave a review.

**(10) Nightmares**

Sometime in the we small hours of the morning Hermione woke with a start, she knew something was wrong, she couldn't find her wand at first, and then remembered she had put it away so she wouldn't be tempted to use it. She then conjured a candle without her wand and lit it. Levitating the candle around the room she could see that all was normal in her room, but something was still wrong … somewhere. Harry … something with Harry, she got up quickly and found her wand, tucking it into the waistband of her pyjamas. She unsealed her bedroom door and went out into the hall closing the door and sealing it as she went. She found Harry's room and listened at the door long enough to hear noises inside … it sounded like a muffled fight. She unlocked the door and went in, closing it behind her. Harry was having a nightmare, writhing and twisting on the bed as though he was trying to get loose from something and in a muffled voice he shouted "No … not her … not Hermione." She ran up to the side of the bed, not sure what to do, she hesitated for a few moments and he seemed to calm down though he was still twitching a little. She waited a few minutes before starting to walk away. Half way across the room he started getting worse so she stopped. Stopping didn't calm him so she again walked closer to him and waited. He seemed to be a little less agitated, so she came closer and after a moment he calmed noticeably. Returning to the side of the bed gave the same results as before.

Hermione's mind was in its own turmoil, what to do, what's proper … appropriate … hell, this is Harry, she'll do whatever it takes. She knelt down on the floor and reached under the blankets to find his hand. She found his arm and slowly worked her hand down to his hand, and gently held it. A moment later he was completely calm and soon his breathing was regular and even. Relief washed through her as the troubled feeling in the back of her mind disappeared and was replaced with contentment.

Now what … if I let go what happens and she realized her knees were protesting because of the hard floor, how long do I have to keep this up? She removed her hand from his and soon the troubled feeling in her mind returned. She wondered if the feeling was only in her imagination or real until his breathing became more erratic. She reached out and touched his hand again. His breathing slowed and normalized … a minute later she had the contented feeling back again. Merlin, now what, I can't stay on the floor all night and I can't climb into bed with him, what will he think in the morning when he finds me there, what will he try to do? So many questions and two painful knees, time to act. Harry if you love me as much as I know you do, you won't take advantage of this she thought as she released his hand and carefully climbed onto the bed. She stayed on top of the covers and quilt. By now the troubled feeling had returned to her mind. She lay on her side facing him using one arm as a pillow and draped the other over him and soon the contented feeling returned. How am I going to explain this to him in the morning and then she realized, when she helped him learn legilimency he could see this in her mind and he would know. She could feel his warmth through the quilt and his scent was so tantalizing, she was soon content herself, moments later, fast asleep.

Sometime during the night their positions had changed, she was using his chest as a pillow; one arm was still draped over him while the other was around his neck. He had both his hands out from under the covers and on her waist and his chin was in her bushy brown hair.

Harry slowly woke up, first realizing there was a weight on his chest making it hard to breath, then a relaxingly familiar scent registered in his sleepy mind. He tried to put those two things together and it didn't make sense until he opened one eye to a sea of brown hair. Now he could hear her slow breathing and he thought he could feel her heart beating through her chest. What a glorious way to wake up he thought as his mind cleared. The covers were down to their stomachs and whatever she was wearing must be so thin he was sure he could feel her every curve and dimple all the way down to the covers as he didn't wear a shirt, just his boxers in bed. She was snuggled up so tight to him even one of her legs was between his. His hands must be on her waist, one arm was pinned under her the other was free to move, but dare he move it, would she wake up. He knew if she woke up she would feel self conscious and need to leave, Merlin, he would feel self conscious. Was he being selfish to want to enjoy this as long as possible? Why was she here, what happened in the night? He lay there perfectly still, trying to breath evenly, trying to calm his urges, trying to remember what might have happened in the night to bring her here. He remembered having nightmares, she was being tortured by Death Eaters … then something drove the nightmares away. That must be when she came in here. She must have heard him and come here to find out what was wrong. Her presence, her love drove the demons away. The only way to keep them away must have been to stay close to him. The contented feeling in the back of Hermione's mind had changed from simple contentment to blissful joy. This triggered some awareness in her mind, but not enough to bring her out of her comfortable warm sleep. He heard her moan, it was a happy sound, she wriggled against him, readjusting her position slightly. He could feel his reaction to her movement and was sure she must be able to feel it too.

His eyes watered, he wanted to cry for the struggle she must have gone through in her own mind that allowed her to stay. While they hadn't done anything, someone walking in on this would assume the worst.

Hermione's blissful joy feeling changed to one of not quite fear and she started to wake. She grumbled at the apparent lumpiness of this pillow, something was poking in her ribs and something else had been pressing in her thigh but was fading to a memory. Something, no two something's on her waist and the pillow that her chest and head were resting on were so warm she didn't want to open her eyes. Now she could feel the pillow vibrate, the rhythm sounded like a heartbeat that was out of sync with her own. Reality slowly dawned on her, she had gone to Harry in the night, he was having nightmares and the only thing that cured them was her, so she stayed. Now she realized her arms were wrapped around him not the covers, where were the covers, she dared not open her eyes yet until she sorted out her surroundings. There was something between her legs, was that his leg? She groaned audibly and then heard his voice.

"Good morning my angel, I trust you slept well."

Dare she open her eyes and look up to where his voice came from. It was then she realized the pyjamas she was wearing were so thin as to be almost transparent and she didn't bring a robe. If she rolled over or got up there was going to be nothing left to his imagination or anyone else's she met in the hallway. "Harry, what must you think of me, climbing into bed with you at the first opportunity", she mumbled into his chest, her eyes still closed.

"I think you saved both of us from at least six Death Eaters. That's very brave of you to risk yourself for me."

Now she had to open her eyes and look up at him, too late she realized this was giving him an unobstructed view of at least half her chest as he closed his eyes.

"Those pyjamas had better be comfortable, they're certainly not meant to block my view." They both blushed.

Hermione concentrated on them and made them black and opaque before saying, "Open your eyes, is that better?"

"Well … now I can concentrate on you and not the view. Did you have a good sleep?"

"Merlin yes … as lumpy as this pillow is", she snuggled into him inferring he was the pillow. "If you keep having these nightmares, I expect I could force myself to do this again", she giggled.

"The nightmares are normal. If you can live with a lumpy pillow, I could get used to a good nights sleep. Waking up with you here was such an incredible rush of feelings."

"What made you check on me, was I making a lot of noise

"I don't think so; you did speak, but not that loudly. I got a feeling that something was wrong, I woke up, but I didn't know what was off. My room was okay so I checked on you. I could hear movement and noise from outside the door so I came in. The only thing that calmed you completely was my touch."

"Climbing in with me couldn't have been an easy choice."

"No it wasn't, all kinds of things went through my mind, and you could take advantage of this so easily." She wiggled herself up the bed so they were face to face and gave him a kiss.

He smiled as she slithered up half on top of him, and returned the kiss gently then groaned saying, "I think I am taking the advantage, we need to talk, but not here and not now. You should get back to your room, I hear others moving around. Fawkes will take you." Fawkes appeared a few moments later and Hermione, with a smile on her face, was taken back to her room. Harry thought to himself, if this keeps up I'm going to be taking a lot of cold showers.

They had slept in and Vernon had not bothered them. When they both came downstairs the Dursleys said nothing. Harry made breakfast for two as Hermione looked up answers to some questions she had about Legilimency. They kept looking at each other and then looking away.

After breakfast, Harry reminded the Dursleys that he needed to be here only one day a week to maintain the protection they enjoyed. After his birthday the protection Dumbledore placed on this house will expire and Harry didn't expect to be back here after his birthday unless it was to pick up his things.

The teens went out the back door and sat facing each other on the bench. They both had their books from yesterday with them and Hermione started going over the theory of Legilimency with Harry. By noon they both had the basics worked out and were able to look into each others minds at will. Harry remarked that he didn't feel the brute force of the intrusion that he had felt from Snape. Hermione was curious, so he brought up a memory of Snapes intrusion for her to see and feel. Hermione had to agree that Snapes attacks were much more painful than the encounters they were currently experiencing. It was near noon and they decided to break for lunch.

Hermione was on edge, waiting for Harry to say something about this morning, the talk he said they needed.

With lunch over, they started wandless magic for a while. Harry had found some techniques in the book he was reading. That still left about three hours before they could leave for the Grangers. Harry had sent Hedwig to Emma last night when he knew what time they could leave Privet Drive, so the Grangers were expecting them before half of five.

They decided that was enough study and practice and they should get some exercise. Harry told Aunt Petunia they were going for a walk. They would be back around five and leaving shortly after that for Hermione's home. They set off in the opposite direction from yesterday and mostly covered new ground.

During their walk they talked around the subject of the overnight sleeping arrangements and how serious she was about liking her new lumpy pillow as well as the fact that he got a good sleep out of it. Neither one saying anything the other could get a proper feel for. Hermione was getting desperate, she needed an answer … good, bad or otherwise she needed an answer. They were passing a bench seat in the park they were walking through. She took his arm and stopped him, telling him to sit. She sat straddling the bench leaving him enough room to do the same … he mirrored her position and they watched each other for a moment.

Hermione, as she expected, had to start, "Harry, Don't say anything, just hear me out, I need some answers from you and I'm not getting them. I want to ask you a few questions and I want your honest response. I won't legilimize you, but know that I can tell if you are lying.

"Why would I lie to you?" he responded.

"Would you go back to dating Ginny if Voldemort was gone forever?"

"This is one of those girl questions isn't it? You won't come out and say what you really want or ask the question you really want the answer to." He responded with a slightly harsh tone.

"Right on one." She replied, "Now answer the question … honestly."

Harry took in a deep breath and let it out very slowly before responding, "That's complicated to answer … given no other immediate choice … probably, but … there is another I'd choose … if only..." and he let the answer hang there.

"if only?" Hermione prompted.

"I don't believe she wants me in that way."

She reached half way across the gap for his hands before saying, "Have you talked to her about it?"

"No, I'm afraid … I'm afraid it might turn out badly. It's safer if things remain the way they are."

Sighing, she responded, "Much time has been wasted, much heartbreak has been wrought for lack of speaking. Who ever she is probably feels the same about you. Harry you deserve all the happiness you can get, you need to talk to her … tell her of your feelings, at least then you know."

"I … I … can't." he said.

"New question." She said, "If I was to date Terry Boots from Ravenclaw, would you be upset?"

"You … you … like him?"

"That's a question, not an answer … answer the question, If I was to date Terry from Ravenclaw, would you be upset?"

"Bloody hell Hermione," he nearly shouted, "Yes I would … I would be mad at myself." Harry took several long, deep breaths, calming down, before he whispered, "I … I want you … I think I love you … no … I know I love you …" he said looking down at the bench.


	11. Chapter 11 Togetherness

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the first 6 books in the Harry Potter series by J K Rowling belong to the aforementioned J K Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

Delivered as promissed, I tried to upload it last night, but it kept returning errors, maybe I can only upload in the mornings. Reviews to the last chapter I haven't responded to yet, I will soon. Let me know what you think and thnaks for reading.

**(11) Togetherness**

Whatever he was going to finish saying he never had a chance. Hermione pounced on him with such force they both toppled off the bench and rolled on the grass before coming to a stop with Hermione on top attempting to kiss a shocked Harry,

Harry, dazed from hitting his head on the ground, and, to say the least, surprised by the attack didn't respond to her attempts to kiss him until he heard between her kiss attempts, "I thought Ron was thick … you big oaf … took you long enough … I love you too … Boys!" After finally getting a feeble response to her attempts she collapsed on him mumbling, "My lumpy pillow … mine … mine … mine."

Finally starting to come to his senses all he could see was spots and streaks of light as if looking up through the thick canopy of the Forbidden Forest. His arms wrapped around her, their faces, cheek to cheek, he felt her hair draped over his eyes and realized that was what was blocking his vision. Other revalations slowly dawned on him and a smile formed on his lips. As his mind processed her last few words, when he recognized 'thick' & 'oaf' his smile started to fade until 'I love you too' came through the fog that was still dissipating through his mind and 'mine, mine, mine'. The biggest smile formed on his face as he hugged her tight in his dawning realization that she loved him back.

Tears leaked from her eyes as she lay there on top of him, some fell to the ground and others were trapped in her eye lashes and their hair. She didn't have to hold him tight as she was lying on top of him revelling in his warmth and his, albeit reluctant, admission of love for her. She finally recognized the feeling of him in the back of her mind as it changed from shock and surprise to happiness followed by pleasure. After she wriggled to a more comfortable position, trying to match his lumps to her hollows, she felt something growing and hard against her thigh. She gasped, "Ohhh," as she realized what it must be and hugged him tighter while she blushed.

As she squirmed on top of him he could distinctly feel her breasts against his chest as well as her legs, hips and stomach find more comfortable locations against him. It was then he realized with embarrassment that his pants seemed to be getting tighter as 'little Harry' grew to full size. When her thigh moved to give 'Little Harry' more space, he whispered in her ear, "That's your fault you know." Followed soon after by "What are you going to do about it?" in an impish voice.

She relaxed her grip and raised her head to look him in the eyes, before moving her leg back to grind her thigh into his erection. Harry groaned as his hands came up to move her hair out of the way before pulling her closer for a heated kiss. Her tongue responded first through her lips, searching for an opening into his mouth. When he responded their tongues duelled for a moment before slipping past to explore and taste each other.

Hermione ground her thigh into him again and he groaned into her mouth before trying to speak the words, "Trouble maker" and "Tease". He brought his hands down and placed them gently on her waist with his thumbs trying reach across her stomach. Then he slowly brought his hands up her torso until his thumbs and palms were cupping her breasts. He moved his thumbs around in circles brushing her nipples on each slow pass. He could feel them harden after a few moments, she then groaned in pleasure into his mouth as he brought his knee up spreading her legs.

Their lips and tongues finally separated as the need for air became inescapable. Her head slipped to its former position beside his, cheek to cheek, and their breathing gradually slowed. His thumbs slowed, but never stopped moving against her breasts so she kept her thigh in motion against his hardness. They both whispered "I love you." Into each others ears at the same time.

After her breathing had recovered as much as possible, considering Harry was still massaging her, she tried to roll off him. He followed her and rolled over too. His elbows and knees were now supporting his weight, she was trapped beneath him, as he cradled her head in his hands and brought his lips to hers.

She snaked her arms between his and placed her hands on his chest. As she worked her hands over him, she could feel the quivering stomach and chest muscles he was using to hold himself up and keep his weight off her. She knew the Quiddich training helped his physique but she was still amazed by his trim but well toned body. They eventually had to break apart and he rolled onto his right side rather than collapse on top of her since his muscles were spent from lack of oxygen. He used his right arm to support his head while his left was now on her stomach.

As Hermione rolled to face him, a huge smile on her face, his hand flowed up and onto her waist while her free hand migrated over to him. While their hands roamed, trying to find new places to explore, their breathing and heart rate slowly approached normal. When the heat in her lower belly dissipated, Hermione could feel a significant dampness that was partly being absorbed into her knickers. She groaned, she wanted to bring Harry's hand down to feel her wetness, her reaction to his ministrations, as she had felt his reaction to her. They lay there, watching the twinkles of happiness in each others eyes and the different smiles on their faces as their hands continued to roam unchecked. Harry began to feel a slight dampness in his crotch too. He knew he hadn't created a full environmental disaster down there, he barely managed to hold that back, but something must have leaked out.

As Harry's watch went past his eyes he noticed that it was after five and they should have left for Oxford. He whispered to her that they were running late and needed to go, but she wasn't ready to move yet. Little Winging would have to sink into the North Sea for her to move. After 3 attempts, he figured that if he got up, she might follow. It wasn't that he wanted to break up the earth shattering event; he simply didn't want to upset her parents by arriving too much later than expected.

As he moved, she grudgingly followed, she wasn't going to let him get away, she thought to herself, 'mine, mine, mine' and she knew it was true. She had felt him in the back of her mind again and knew he was thrilled and happy beyond belief. For quite a while after they had rolled over, she saw red and gold sparks emanate from his head and upper torso. Her peripheral vision didn't extend further south so she didn't see if the effect was all over him. He had been radiating magic again, happy magic this time. She sighed and finally got up taking his hand, then whispered in a soft voice, "About time Potter.", before looking around to see if the area was clear of muggles and apparating them back to her room at the Dursleys.

"What do you mean, about time." He asked.

"Get your bags and we'll meet downstairs." She replied.

"I should take a shower." He said.

"Cold or hot?" She asked.

"Both, and in that order." Harry responded.

"Me too." She said then asked in a teasing voice, "If we do it together we could wash each others backs?"

"I don't think washing your back would be my first choice, but I'm sure I'd get around to it eventually." He teased right back to her.

Hermione squirmed in delight at the suggestion and Harry noticed. "Considering the idea are you?"

"Maybe … no time right now … get your stuff and meet downstairs in five minutes

They sent Hedwig off, collected their belongings, locked their doors and met in the living room to say goodbye to the Dursleys. "We'll be back in a week, do you want me to call or send my owl to let you know exactly when?"

"Call or don't bother coming back." Said Vernon in a gruff voice. Harry ignored him and Petunia simply said "Bye," but she motioned with her hand towards the back yard.

The teens went out back and Petunia soon followed. Harry talked to Aunt Petunia, he told her they would be back sometime Monday, he wasn't sure what time, but he would try to let her know on Sunday. Harry warned her that this house was on record as his place of residence and when Dumbledore's protection charms expired on his birthday this house would be vulnerable to attack by Voldemort and his followers.

Petunia thanked him and told him she had watched them yesterday in the back yard and asked, "Who was the cat lady."

"That's Professor McGonagall, she's the new Headmistress since Dumbledore died."

"Oh … and that large flame … didn't look like that was supposed to happen."

"No, it was supposed to be much smaller." Said Hermione.

"Quick thinking on your part to block the flame with water to protect your girlfriend."

Hermione watched Harry's reaction to the word 'girlfriend' and he didn't flinch.

"Lucky I was watching closely and have good reflexes."

"I didn't see you use a wand."

"You don't miss much, I didn't use a wand."

"I thought you needed one to do magic?"

"If you have enough magical power you don't need one. We're just learning to do without our wands now; both our wands have been in our rooms since we got here."

"You two reminded me of James and Lilly, they used to sit in Mom and Dad's back yard and try to outdo each other with little magic tricks. I used to hate that I couldn't do those things. Lilly and I were never the best of friends, but we got along alright. I can't help but feel that if Lilly hadn't married your Dad she might still be here."

Harry sighed and Hermione said, "We're past due to leave, my parents will be wondering where we are, Good bye Mrs. Dursley."

"Good bye Aunt Petunia"

And Petunia actually said good bye and wished them well.

Hermione called Fawkes and in moments they were in her bedroom in Oxford. After a quick kiss Harry went to his room to drop off his bags, she hastily wrote a note to Mrs. Figg and Fawkes left with it. They met at the top of the stairs and joined hands before looking down. By then Emma was at the bottom looking up to ascertain what the noise was.

Hermione's voice rang out "Something sure smells good, what's for supper?"

"Your favourite, Honey … you kids wash up, it'll be ready in a minute." They did and all four of them gathered at the kitchen table. "Harry, you said treat you like family and family usually eats in the kitchen."

"I wouldn't have it any other way", he said.

They found their seats between Emma and Dan who were already seated and looking knowingly at each other.

Dan asked, "Did you have a good visit with your Aunt and Uncle?"

"It started out badly, but actually turned out alright", said Harry.

"At least it ended well", said Emma.

"Your Mother thinks something happened since you left here yesterday. One of you start talking." Dan said as he looked alternately at Hermione and Harry.

Harry and Hermione looked at each other trying to figure out if her Mother could possibly know about last night or today.

"Dig in, it's getting cold." Said Emma, we can talk during and after."

"What makes you think something happened." Asked Hermione.

"Your body language, a smile here and a smirk there, both your attitudes are lighter and you were holding hands at the top of the stairs. Tell me I'm a crazy old bat or tell me what happened?"

"Mum, I know some crazy old bats and you don't qualify … yet."

"Keep talking, you two can take turns if you want."

"We learned some more magic … we can look into each others memories now and I started to catch up to Harry with wandless magic." She said as she held her hand out and conjured a glass of water in her hand. She had hoped this would distract her Mother, but, alas no.

"That's nice honey, keep talking." She said in a flat voice.

"Oh Merlin, alright, I got upset at Harry today and sort of threatened to date someone else."

"Hermione!" Said Emma in a stern voice.

I had to do something to get a reaction, I'd have had to wait another six years for him to do it on his own." She sighed.

"Then what happened." Emma asked softly.

"I could feel he was upset, but I had to push some more," she said as she reached across the table for Harrys hand, "He finally admitted he wanted me, he told me he loved me, I knew it was true."

Emma got up, scurried over and hugged her daughter, then went around the table and hugged Harry. Dan gave Hermione's other hand a squeeze and winked at her then turned to Harry and said, "She's been talking our ears off for years about you Son, I sure hope this works out for both of you."

Hermione let out a breath she didn't know she was holding, she had been more concerned about how her Father would react than her Mother. They are both happy, life will be good. Harry had sensed Hermione's feelings in the back of his mind and she was very happy, his concern evaporated instantly into happiness too. She looked up at him, having sensed his changed mood, and could see in his mind that he was now as linked to her feelings as she was to his.

Dan was now watching the two of them watching each other and their very happy faces. "Are you guys mind reading or something, I feel something is going on between you?"

"Sorry Dad, Harry finally found the link to my feelings and now we can sense each others feelings, it's really quite incredible, and yes we can also 'read' as you put it, each others minds."

Dan and Emma were especially interested in the mind reading and how much they could actually see in another persons mind.

Hermione explained that once they learned it properly, they could find there way through someone's memories and find memories from their past along with their feelings. "For example," she said. "Mum, I could find your memory of when Daddy proposed to you, and feel how happy you were. _Her parents looked at each other remembering the event and how embarrassed they'd be if anyone saw it._ We wouldn't do that without your permission, it would be unethical. When we were practicing, we made up images in our minds for the other to see. There's another part of that magic that we have to learn and it involves blocking the mind so that someone else can't get in and look around."

"We've forgotten to eat." Said Harry.

"Ohhh," said Emma and they all dug in to the excellent supper after the teens reheated the food magically.

When that discussion wound down, supper was over and Harry helped Emma clear the remains away.

Emma wanted to know what they did yesterday when they left here. They talked about the Weasleys and about going back there tomorrow for lunch and didn't expect to be back for supper. They left out Harry's talk with Ginny. They started talking about the trip to the bank and Harry hoping he had enough money left for school. Then they were taken to the bank Managers office and Harry was worried that he must already be overdrawn. Then how they found out he had a vault full of gold, some from Sirius Will, and two properties, Grimmauld Place he already knew about, and his parents had owned the house on Privet Drive where he lived with the Dursleys. He explained that he'd split some of the money up and gave it to the Weasleys and some for Remus and he wanted to add Hermione's name to his vault. This was when Harry pulled out a little gold key and put it in the middle of the table.

"Now hold on here," said Dan "I … don't know if I like this …"

"First," interrupted Harry, "Hermione objected just as strongly as you are, until I told her the purpose of this is to keep the Dursleys from getting any more of the gold than necessary should anything happen to me. She went along with that, but insisted that your names be added to the vault as well."

"You really dislike your Aunt and Uncle that much?"

"Absolutely," said Harry. "Although Aunt Petunia did seem to soften up a bit just before we left today. She told us that when she saw us out in the back yard practicing magic it reminded her of my parents. It actually seemed like Aunt Petunia did care … a little."

Hermione had stayed out of the conversation as they had agreed and tried to keep a neutral expression on her face. Emma wasn't saying anything either, but kept a close eye on the other three until she asked, "Just how much gold are we talking about?"

Harry looked at Hermione quickly before answering, "There are over two hundred thousand galleons at the moment."

Dan and Emma gaped at each other; they knew the conversion was a little over five pounds to the galleon. Far from being a pauper, Harry had a lot of money, well, gold. That amount didn't make him rich, but he or they could work at whatever they liked and not worry about how much they were paid.

"Take the key and hold on to it. It's as much to keep the gold out of my Uncles hands as anything else. I'm not asking you to use the key, though you're welcome to all the gold in there. When I expressed my feelings about the Dursleys, Ragnok recommended I make a Will by the end of the month to avoid the gold going automatically to them. Putting another name on the vault in the interim would limit the amount they could claim. My Will wouldn't be legal until after I'm seventeen."

"We feel very strange going along with this and I hope you don't expect this to change how we feel about you or how protective we are of our little girl." Said Emma.

"I hope you don't feel that this is some kind of attempt to gain your daughters favour or your approval. I have unwavering confidence in Hermiones integrity and you appeared to approve of me until this discussion. I don't expect your opinion of me to change because of this key.


	12. Chapter 12 Deer or Dear

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the first 6 books in the Harry Potter series by J K Rowling belong to the aforementioned J K Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

I'm confused … How come 30 more people read chapter 11 than read chapter 10 and yet I got fewer reviews? To those who did review … Thank You … to those who keep sending reviews, A BIG Thank You to: hpworld47, meenajon, mysticpammy, Renevatio, Lierian, Mukuro Meki and rower2000. I think that's all that have sent multiple reviews. Some of the above named have written stories the rest of you may want to check out. I'm going to when I get a few spare minutes.

**(12) Dear or Deer (Caught in the headlights)**

Harry got up from the table saying, "I saw a couple of chairs in the back yard; I'm going to grab a book or two and practice. I'm sure we've left your parents with enough to keep them talking for a long time."

Harry went upstairs, rummaged through their still packed bags and grabbed the books they'd been reading and her wand before he went outside. On his way out he passed the kitchen and said, "I have your wand too."

He had been practicing for about ten minutes, conjuring larger items, tables and chairs, birdbaths and muggle garden gnomes and was about to banish them and start again when she joined him. Her parents were watching them through the window. He started banishing some of the objects when Hermione said, "Leave the bird bath."

Harry smiled while returning her wand. She slid her wand up her sleeve then filled the bird bath and conjured her flock of singing canaries. Most perched around it while he finished banishing his chairs.

Her parents watched the canaries for a few minutes before Emma came outside. The teens weren't expecting this and stopped what they were doing. Some of the canaries were flying around Hermione's head.

Harry had an idea and said, "Do your Patronus and send it inside to your Dad." He wanted to see if her Patronus had changed as Tonks' had changed.

She looked at him as though to ask why, then smiled, pulled out her wand, and for the first time in days used it to cast her Patronus. The result was not the silver Otter she was used to, but what she thought was a very cute Doe to match Harry's Stag that was now, as she just saw, standing in front of it nose to nose. Hermione was as though petrified, standing there open mouthed, in complete surprise, while Harry was smiling at the expression on her face. He approached Hermione and wrapped an arm around her waist, needless to say, her Patronus never made it into the house.

Emma was in complete shock as she saw the Stag approach and nuzzle the Doe, she stood watching until Dan came out and by then the Patroni faded.

"I had an idea that one or the other might change," Harry said with a huge smile. He moved enough to wrap his arms around a still surprised Hermione, then bent down and rubbed noses with her. He looked up as Dan and Emma were laughing, then said quietly to Hermione, "I was thinking of calling you Angel," he whispered, "but I'll stick with Deer."

"Oh very funny Mr. Potter," and they both laughed.

The teens ended up explaining a Patronus to the Adults, concentrating more on their ability to send messages than their usefulness against Dementors.

The evening dwindled away with explanations and demonstrations of several charms and transfigurations winding up with a discussion of Animagus and Metamorphmagus transfigurations.

The adults went to bed just as confused as they were enlightened. They had to go to work in the morning, the teens decided to go to go to sleep early and in the morning they would start reading about Occlumency.

The Grangers, as promised were leaving early, but Harry managed to be showered and dressed in time to see them off. Harry started on breakfast when he heard Hermione shut off the shower. Harry, by now, had mostly figured out her morning ritual and the food was ready as she was coming down the stairs. "Have a good sleep?" he asked.

"Would have been better if I could have found my warm lumpy pillow again," she teased. "What about you? Any nightmares?"

"No nightmares unless you count the one about not being able to find the pretty brunette that was in my bed yesterday morning."

"I know that brunette and she may find her way there again one night."

They finished breakfast with a little more teasing, then she opened the Occlumency book and while Harry cleaned up. She started to read the introduction.

By eleven they had read several chapters, but had made no progress blocking each others attempts at legilimency. They put the book aside and went out in the back to snog. Harry went to the bench and sat straddling it.

Hermione, following him, sat in front of but with her back to him and wiggled in between his legs. "Trouble maker." He kidded as she pulled his hands around her waist, then leaned back into him. Harry found he met resistance when he tried to move one of his hands down, but she allowed them both to move upwards. Once those limits were established she moved her hands to his thighs.

While his chin was gently resting on her shoulder, he was trying to nuzzle her ear with his nose. Hermione smiled as she turned her head and allowed his hands to roam over her stomach and waist. Her hands were roaming his stomach and waist, down his thighs and to his knees. Because of their closeness and mind link, each was able to improve the others enjoyment without exceeding their comfort boundaries.

They lost themselves in the enjoyment of the moment and several minutes later Harry heard a rustling sound he couldn't identify, so he cracked open his only eye that wasn't buried in her hair and he could see the grass moving as if blown by an ever changing wind and the rose bushes on his left were making the rustling sound, but he couldn't feel any wind, it seemed dead calm. The trees and hedge further away weren't moving at all. He wondered if Hermione could see this too. He whispered, "dear", tentatively.

"Mmmm", was her response.

"Slowly open your left eye and tell me what you see", he asked.

"There must be a breeze, the grass and bushes are rustling in it", she responded before it occurred to her that she couldn't feel any wind. She closed her left eye and opened the right one, there was nothing moving by the fence, only the grass below them. "Are we causing this?"

"I hate to suggest it, but lets break apart and see what happens", he slowly unwrapped his arms and she moved forward, not quite out of reach. The bushes stopped moving, the grass was still and there was … no breeze. "We're going to be a standing joke you know, 'Here come the Heads, hang on to your parchment and books'." Quipped Harry.

"Oh Merlin no", she said.

"Unless the only time we're together is in our own common room or out on the grounds when it's already windy."

"Potter … what am I going to do with you … you make even the best things in life so difficult."

"Somewhere I heard 'It takes two to Tango', so it's not all my fault … we should both practice some wandless sticking charms before going inside", said Harry. They conjured several items and stuck them to the bench, and then they removed each others stuck objects and banished them.

They managed to rustle some leaves and make the grass move under their feet a few times before coming back in and preparing to leave for the Burrow. Harry was so happy to just be able to hold her close like that and breathe in her scent. This is going to be the best summer ever he thought. Meanwhile Hermione was thinking, she was the happiest knowing now that Harry really did love her and wanted to be with her. She couldn't believe how lucky she was. Really she thought, Harry could have his pick of almost any girl at Hogwarts, Though none of them really knew him, all they wanted was 'The Boy Who Lived', not 'just Harry'. Even Ginny didn't really know 'just Harry'."

Hermione sidealong apparated Harry into the Weasleys back yard. Ron and Ginny were de-gnoming the garden so they walked over and Harry helped while Hermione watched. Ginny stopped and stood aside to allow the boys some room, occasionally giving Hermione a traitorous scowl. Hermione tried to ignore her, knowing that Ginny was upset about loosing Harry. Ginny apparently believed Hermione stole Harry from her.

Molly soon called them in for lunch; Harry sat beside Hermione who was across the table from Ginny. As the meal progressed, Ginny ate relatively little while maintaining a constant glare at Hermione. Harry was well aware of Ginny's glare and Hermione's agitation. When she put her hand on his thigh and gave it a squeeze Harry knew it was time to act. Harry caught Ginny's eyes for a moment and legilimized her to find out what she was thinking. He got a very clear image of two rabbits, with their faces, trying to make little bunnies. He looked at Ginny in shock and nearly yelled, "WE are NOT doing THAT!"

Everyone looked at Harry in surprise while Ginny was in flabbergasted shock. Molly recovered first and asked Harry, "What's going on?"

"You don't want me to tell your Mother what you were thinking?" Harry said very quietly to Ginny.

"You were in my mind!" Ginny shrieked.

Molly and Ron were looking at Harry in shock and surprise, neither uttered a word.

"Only for a moment, and you surpassed my suspicions," Harry said. "I expect you to apologize to Hermione. The past is the past … get over it … it's not going to change."

"But … but … I love you Harry ... and you love me … I know you do!" Ginny screamed with tears in her eyes.

"Ginny", Harry said in an exasperated tone, "You fell in love with 'The Boy Who Lived' years before you ever saw me … before you even knew me. I thought I could return the love and make you happy … while it made you happy, it didn't work for me."

They all saw Ginny reach for her sleeve where she kept her wand.

Molly yelled, "NO!"

Hermione waved her hand and put up a wandless shield charm while Harry acquired Ginny's wand from her sleeve with a wandless summoning charm, pulling it around the hand that was reaching for it. Harry caught the wand as he intended, at the tip end, passing it to Molly who was sitting there open mouthed at the entire proceedings.

Ginny's hand reached her sleeve as she saw her wand flying across the table and into Harry's waiting hand … but how … she wondered; could Harry now do wandless magic?

"Ginny, the last thing I wanted to do was create a scene in front of everyone, what will it take to convince you?"

"Prove your love for HER!" Ginny demanded in a near angry tone.

"Prove …?" Questioned Harry.

Hermione caught Harry's attention and when he looked at her she raised her eyebrows and opened her eyes very wide trying to hint to Harry to use legilimency to read her thoughts.

Harry caught the hint, looked her straight in the eyes while entering Hermione's thoughts where he found the image of the two Patronus Deer nuzzling.

"Ah, that should work," responded Harry.

"Ginny, you remember that Tonks Patronus changed when she and Remus … got together?" said Hermione.

"Okay … and …" Said Ginny.

"You know what my Patronus is?" said Hermione.

"Yes … an Otter."

"And mine", said Harry.

"Is a Stag", said Ginny.

"Alright dear, wand ready … you cast right, I'll go left." Harry used his left hand and pointed his finger for show. They both cast their Patroni that cantered around the kitchen table and met up behind Ginny. Molly gasped, she didn't realize these kids could do magic that advanced, she had trouble with her Patronus on a good day. The Doe and the Stag nuzzled each other for several seconds before fading.

Ginny watched in shock, she was surprised enough that Harry still didn't need a wand, but when she saw Hermione's new Patronus, she gave up hope. "Is that proof enough Ginny?" asked Harry.

Molly said, "You've got me convinced, and congratulations for finally sorting yourselves out. Ginny, we need to talk … upstairs now!"

At that moment there was a knock on the door. Molly recognized Wilkie Twycross and let him in before escorting Ginny upstairs.

"Apparition testing … Ron you first if you're ready," said Wilkie.

"Good, where to?"

"Let's start outside."

Wilkie conjured two white blankets on the ground about ten feet apart and placed a hoop on the furthest one. "Start from the middle of this white space and apparate to the middle of that hoop." He requested. "Take your time and do it right."

Ron took his time, mentally went through the three D's, and apparated into the hoop. He was off to one side of the hoop and hoped that it wouldn't matter. As Wilkie examined the starting square in detail to verify that nothing was left behind, Harry and Hermione went over to Ron and checked him over, then congratulated him.

Wilkie had him go back and forth between the two white squares several times before trying longer distances. Finally he side-along apparated Ron to the Ministry to fill out his licence, then followed Ron back home before giving the licence to him.

"Now Harry, you did well with the lessons at school so I don't expect any problems, do you have any questions?"

"How do I go about leaving this scar behind," Harry asked pointing to his forehead.

"I'm sorry Harry, that's not an option if you want to pass the licence exam."

"Oh well … let's get on with it then," said Harry, he stepped on to the first white square and immediately apparated over to the middle of the hoop on the next square, where he waited.

"Very good Harry," said Wilkie after examining both blankets and Harry for missing parts. "Now go back and forth three times, then up to the orchard and back. Stay within sight in case you have a problem. Harry popped back and forth as requested, then up to the orchard and back again. Wilkie checked him over and pronounced him good.

"Harry, do you think you can you apparate us back to my office in the Ministry?"

"I can get us to the Atrium apparition point easily enough … if you picture the location of your office in your mind I can take us directly there."

"You've mastered legilimency?"

"I don't know about 'Mastered', but I've got the basics down."

Wilkie stepped in front of Harry and looked him in the eyes before saying, "the information is in my mind now, whenever you're ready."

Wilkie was waiting for Harry to draw his wand and say the spell, but that never happened, instead he heard Harry say, "Ready in 3 … 2 … 1." And they were in his office a moment later.

Wilkie checked them both over carefully before doing or saying anything else. "We look to be complete Harry, and you're very good at apparition already. When you went from place to place you were almost as silent as me. You must have gone into my mind to get this location, but I didn't feel you enter, what did you do, you didn't use your wand?"

"I legilimized you and the information was right there when I entered your mind, it hardly took a moment to do. Now as for the wand, I slipped up and forgot to use it, please don't tell anyone, Professor McGonagall wants this tp remain a secret, I don't need one for most things anymore."

"Harry, there's not many witches or wizards that can do what you're capable of doing, even older ones. I have no problem keeping your secrets. Here is your copy of the licence. I can't process the paperwork on this end until the thirty-first. Do you want me to take you back to The Burrow?"

"I shouldn't apparate there myself should I?"

"No … not until after noon on your birthday, allow some time for the paperwork to get processed."

"If you wouldn't mind returning with me that would be great." Said Harry.

"I'll apparate us back," said Wilkie, and in a moment they were gone.

When they returned, Wilkie talked to Molly for a few minutes before congratulating the boys and leaving.

When Molly approached the trio, Harry attempted to apologize for upsetting Ginny, but Molly shushed him and said, "Ginny had herself convinced that she was in love with you when she was six or seven years old. Arthur and I have been trying for years to convince her that what she thought was love was in fact, simply, Hero Worship. I think it finally got through to her today that she wasn't going to get what she thought she wanted. Now it's time for reality to settle in. I hope she'll be ready to go to Luna's in a few hours."

"Someone will have to apparate her to Luna's and I don't think that Harry or I will be too popular with her for a while. I'll still have to take Harry …", said Hermione.

"We can all use Fawkes", interrupted Harry, "That'll simplify things and we'll get there at once … except Neville … how is he getting there?"

"Fawkes?" questioned Molly, "That's Albus' phoenix, why would he help."

"Fawkes has taken a liking to Harry", said Hermione, "and will do what he asks."

"Brilliant", said Ron.

"Oh", said Molly, "does that have any significance to The Order of the Phoenix?"

"Apparently not", replied Hermione, "according to Albus' letter a white phoenix will appear to select the next leader of The Order. Fawkes did send Harry an image, and McGonagall translated it. Part of that image indicated Harry to be the Headmaster of Hogwarts in the future."

"Another Phoenix!" Ron said.

"Dear, do you want to go and get Neville or shall I?" asked Harry.

"We should find out if he has transportation arranged first. I'll write a note if someone will find me a quill and parchment. Ron and Molly rummaged through a few drawers and found quill, ink and parchment. Hermione wrote the note:

Neville,

If you need transportation to Luna's tea, we can collect you any time your ready. We are at The Burrow now and we'd like a chance to talk to you before we meet Luna. When you're ready send Fawkes back and make sure there is space in front of you for us to apparate.

Harry, Ron & Hermione

Harry had already called Fawkes before the note was finished. He held the note in front of Fawkes and the bird picked it out of Harry's hand. Harry imagined Fawkes giving the note to Neville and the bird was gone in a red flash.

Neville was sitting at the kitchen table, an open Herbology text in front of him and his Gran was sitting at the head of the table nursing a cup of tea. A flash of red flame overhead caught them both by surprise. Augusta's tea cup dropped and broke, fortunately it was almost empty, Neville on the other hand, forgetting he was seated, tried to back up, causing the chair to tip over backwards landing him on his back with a bump on the back of his head where the floor came up and hit him.

Fawkes landed beside Neville and dropped the note on his chest. They both starred at the bird for the better part of a minute before she asked him, "What's in the letter dear?"

Neville's mind hadn't even registered the fact that there was a letter on his chest, so it took him a bit to decipher what his Gran was talking about. Once he saw the corner of a piece of parchment he reached for it. Still lying on his back, on the floor, he brought the note up to his eyes and started reading, then squealed, "Oh no! … I forgot."

Fawkes flew off and perched on one of the kitchen chairs as Augusta repaired her favourite cup and cleaned up the spilled tea. "What did you forget dear, and what is Albus' Phoenix doing here?"

Neville had rolled over and regained his feet, as he ran out of the room he dropped the note in front of his Gran and said, "I've got to get cleaned up and changed, I forgot that was today."

"Oh Neville," she said in complete exasperation. She read the note and wondered if there was anything going on between either of the two girls named in the note and her grandson. Fawkes flexed his wings and fluffed his feathers reminding Augusta that there was a Phoenix perched on one of her kitchen chairs.

The trio were discussing who was going to go and get Neville as Ginny came into the kitchen of The Burrow. They stopped talking instantly and looked at Ginny. Harry was twirling Ginny's wand between his fingers absentmindedly. Molly had left it on the table.

"I'm sorry guys," Ginny said, "I was off in my own fantasy and I didn't want it to end. Mom finally convinced me I'd been trying to live a dream. Harry, it was wonderful while it lasted and I guess I'll always love you or the idea of you and I. Hermione, I'm sorry I tried to hex you, and Harry, how did you get my wand?"

"It was on the table." He said.

"No!" she said in frustration, "I mean out of my sleeve before I could even reach it."

"Oh that," Harry replied, "I accio'd your wand, I know where you keep it."

"But … you didn't have a wand in your hand and …"

Ginny was interrupted by Harry opening his palm to free her wand, then, he appeared to be using the index finger of his other hand to guide Ginny's wand over to her and place it a hairs thickness above her open palm.

"Whoa!" exclaimed Ron.

Ginny was still staring at her wand, she hadn't even closed her hand around it. She looked up to Harry, then over to Hermione and down to Ron. No one had a wand out except hers. Harry had put both his hands down and was staring at her wand. Ginny finally closed her hand around her wand, but the wand wouldn't move until Harry broke eye contact with it and looked at her.

"That is exceptional mate!" exclaimed Ron. "When did you start doing wandless magic?"

"Right after our meeting with McGonagall. She wanted to make sure I wouldn't use my wand at all until after my birthday … or try to apparate. She said that the Ministry can trace wand magic by the signature applied to the magic through the wand and they didn't bother to trace Phoenix apparition because Phoenixes are so rare."

"That gave me a big incentive to learn wandless magic. Not just because of the next month, though that was the immediate reason. McGonagall wants our use of wandless magic to be kept a secret …"

"Our", Ron interrupted, "use of wandless magic."

"Hermione can do it too." Said Harry. "So we'll have to at least pretend to use a wand if we go back to Hogwarts."

"If!" Ginny said loudly, "I thought you were going to hunt V … v … him."

"We are Ginny." Said Harry. "McGonagall is willing to work with us and allow us some freedom to come and go and skip classes from time to time. The castle provides a relatively secure base of operations and of course research material. The teachers have even agreed to help us though they don't yet know what we're doing."

Hermione carried on, "And that brings us to why Luna wanted to talk to all of us." At that instant Fawkes reappeared indicating it was time to collect Neville.

"Ginny, we know that Neville likes you … do you want to get him and bring him back here?"

"I can't apparate." Said Ginny.

"Harry will send you with Fawkes,, he can even tell Fawkes not to bring you back until Neville kisses you." Said Hermione with a giggle. Ron and Harry put their hands over their mouths to stifle their laughter.

"You guys are crazy, Neville will never do it."

"Ginny, I'll tell you why later, when we're all together, but 'The Boy Who Lived' could just as easily have been Neville."

"This had better be a good explanation if I've got to wait for it. If he won't kiss me, how do I get back?"

"Grab hold of Neville, look Fawkes in the eye and picture both of you being here in your mind." Said Harry.

"Sounds too easy."

"If Neville gets difficult, tell him it was my idea and he should get mad at me, not you."

"It was Hermione's idea." Said Ginny.

"She voiced it, but it came from my thoughts."

Ginny looked back and forth between the two of them for a few seconds before Hermione said, "It's true, I stole the idea from Harry's mind." Harry nodded his agreement.

"You two are getting right scary, you know that." Said Ron.

"Are you willing to go, Ginny." Said Harry.

"Alright, but he'd better kiss me without a lot of threats, otherwise it won't be any fun."

Harry looked Fawkes in the eye and tried to explain in his mind what he wanted Fawkes to do. Fawkes nodded his head and trilled, then flew over to Ginny's shoulder. They were gone in a flash.

"G … G … Ginny." Said Neville, "I thought Harry or Hermione was coming?"

"No, they sent me at the last minute, is that a problem?"

"No, just unexpected, your name wasn't even on the note they sent."

"I didn't know they'd sent a note." She said as she closed the distance between them.

"When do we go back?" asked Neville.

"That's the tricky part." Said Ginny, "You have to kiss me to get us to The Burrow. That was Harry's bright idea, I told him you'd never do it and he said we'd have to stay here for an hour before he'd come and rescue us." Ginny was now standing so close to him a wand would have been trapped between them.

"What about you and Harry, won't he kill me for kissing you?"

"Harry has taken up with Hermione, Ron is seeing Luna and I'm all alone." She pouted.

"You don't have to be alone." Neville said as he took her hands, bent his head down and kissed her gently on the lips. They disappeared in a flash of red flame only to reappear in the kitchen of The Burrow, still kissing, to an audience of four, Molly had returned.

The kissing couple had their eyes closed, so they didn't realize they had changed locations or that they now had an audience until they broke apart and opened their eyes. They both turned the bright red colour of Fawkes upon realizing their new surroundings.

"Ginny Weasley!" shouted Molly, "what do you think you're doing."

Harry spoke up quickly, "It's my fault Mrs. Weasley," he spoke loud enough to be heard over the laughter of the other two teens. Neville and Ginny wanted to crawl under The Burrow and hide. Molly looked at Harry as if to say 'this had better be good … explain'.

"I asked Ginny if she would be willing to go and bring Neville back. I only told her, just before Fawkes took her that she had to get Neville to kiss her to bring them back."

"Harry." Exasperated Molly, as if to say 'how could you do that after what Ginny's been through today'. "You should be ashamed of yourself."

"Mrs. Weasley, I promise to be completely ashamed of my actions if either one of them can say they hated having to kiss."

Molly must have glared at Ginny and Neville for a full five minutes, but neither would say a word. Molly finally gave up and left the kitchen.

Ron started laughing then all the teens were laughing. Ginny pulled Neville around to face her and with her other hand tilted his head down and they kissed again, hard and long.


	13. Chapter 13 Luna's Tea

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the first 6 books in the Harry Potter series by J K Rowling belong to the aforementioned J K Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

I haven't written much more lately so I'm using up the chapters that I've written ahead. I'm ahead of you by about 9 chapters so maybe I'll post more often over the holidays. Is everyone okay with the pace of the story (not how often I post) or am I bogging down in too much detail? Please use the REVIEW button at the bottom. Thank you - signed reviews I do respond to.

**(13) Luna invites the Gang for tea**

Ron suggested they find some drinks and go outside to talk. They found a shady tree and sat down on the grass. Harry and Hermione sat so they could legilimize each other, though that was almost not necessary any more. Ron sat on one side and Neville and Ginny sat together opposite Ron.

They started talking about Dumbledore and the funeral, then Neville wanted to know what Harry was doing with Dumbledore the night he died.

"The answer to that ties in with the prophesy, and that ties in with part of the reason I asked Ginny to collect you, Neville. Hermione and I surmise that Luna's idea is for the six of us to work as a team." Said Harry.

"Before I have to explain things too many times, we could ask Luna to join us or we could go to Luna's early."

At that moment Luna apparated in, and sat beside Ron. "I thought I'd save you the trouble of selecting someone to send for me." She said.

Ron put his arm around Luna's waist and said to her, "I had a feeling you'd come as soon as someone mentioned your name."

Harry and Hermione looked at each other exchanging thoughts about Luna, Divination and what McGonagall had said about her. Neville looked confused and Ginny smiled at Luna. Ron simply smiled as Luna leaned her head on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry Ginny," Luna said, "I could have told you long ago that Harry wouldn't work out for you, but I knew you needed some time with Harry to get him out of your system. On the other hand, you and 'The Boy Who Might Have Been' look good together." Luna winked at Ginny, Neville and Ron looked confused at the reference. "And if these two would join our conversation instead of legilimizing each other …"

Hermione looked at Luna in surprise and Harry said, "We were following the conversation …"

"Luna," said Hermione, "you had a reason for calling us together. Would you care to explain?"

"Ahh, yes, a large part of it has already been accomplished. I thought I was going to have to help you and Harry to find your destiny … the life you'll share. I expected that to be my challenge, but you seem to have found it on your own.

You should find, if you haven't noticed it already, that working together or at least close to each other will improve your magical power as well as your abilities. Most witches and wizards can find someone they can bond with magically or bond with in love. It is very rare to find both bonds in one couple. I suspect, for example, it didn't take you very long to learn enough legilimency to get into each others minds. Because your magic and your love are trying to work together, you will find it more difficult to learn Occlumency with just the two of you.

"That explains a few things." Said Harry. The first few successes at wandless magic were draining while Hermione was far away. Further attempts, with Hermione close by seemed almost effortless. The Legilimency took only a few hours of reading and practice to get the basics. Hermione seemed to start off with the wandless magic quite easily, not that learning something quickly is unusual for her.

"Now that the two of you are a couple", said Luna, "that releases Ron and Ginny to accept another person in their lives. The choices they seem to have made or fallen into fit in with what I saw."

"McGonagall told us … that Professor Trelawney thinks highly of your Divination abilities. Dare we assume that you know about the prophesy that was destroyed in the Death Chamber?" Asked Hermione.

"Yes, I know about it … its intent, though not the exact wording. I can see what is supposed to happen in the near future and that the six of us need to work together for the best outcome. That is my reason for bringing us together." Said Luna.

Neville said, "I thought that prophesy was lost?"

"No Neville, I know the prophesy … I think," said Harry, "that we," indicating Ron and Hermione, "have a decision to make. This conversation is about to tread on information that so far was only shared between Ron, Hermione, Dumbledore and myself, on Dumbledore's recommendation.

If Voldemort finds out what the three of us have planned, he could take measures to make our efforts useless. Therefore, complete and absolute secrecy are essential.

"Does anyone have a problem keeping a secret?" Asked Harry.

"No", said Luna, Ginny and Neville almost simultaneously.

Hermione, do we need a way … a spell or a potion … to guarantee secrecy?" Asked Harry.

"I don't think so Harry", said Hermione, "Unlike the DA where we had a lot of members that we didn't really know, I think we can count on everyone here. Once we explain what we're doing, they'll understand the importance of keeping it secret.

Harry and Hermione both looked at Ron and Harry asked what he thought.

"Harry, you know me." Said Ron. "I'm probably the second worst person in the world to keep a secret, right after Hagrid. I think we'll be okay."

"As for adding three to the team … it's really up to you mate, all three of them have good reasons to be brought into the group. Besides you, Luna was the only one to escape the D.O.M. without a scratch and it appears that she might have 'the sight' to keep us alive and on track."

Neville has as much right as anyone here, besides being as Luna called him 'The Boy Who Might Have Been', he put up as good a fight as most and probably wants to kill Belatrix as much or more than you do.

"Now Ginny … Mom would kill me if I said yes and anything happened to her …"

"Ronald you bloody chicken …", was as far as Ginny got before Luna motioned to silence her.

"As I was about to say, I'd hate to take her on in a fight, and the only one that's had 'HIM' in their head more than Ginny is you." Said Ron.

If you two think we can use the help then they're the best choices.

"The more people that know what we're up to, the greater the chance that Voldemort will find out, but if this helps us do it quicker then it's worth it." Said Hermione.

"Ginny, Luna", Hermione said, "McGonagall has insisted that you two take your normal sixth year classes. That is going to limit your participation to weekends and evenings after your homework is done; is that agreeable?"

Both girls said yes and Harry looked at Hermione again. Ron said, "Would you guys please talk like normal people."

"Actually Ron, you're making assumptions, I was only looking at Hermione, I wasn't in her mind … this time."

"Once you're part of the group, you're going to find out some really bizarre and scary stuff. Does anyone have any objections to expanding our group?"

After waiting over a minute through dead silence, Harry said, "Okay … the 'Trio' is now six."

"Luna, is the invitation for tea still open?" Asked Hermione.

After an affirmative response from Luna, Harry called Fawkes and they all flashed over to the Lovegood home. Luna introduced everyone to her Father, Ginny he knew as she had been over often, Ron he had met many years before at the Burrow and the rest he knew of by name and reputation only. The six then made their way to the kitchen.

Luna and Ginny sent the others outside to a covered patio with table and chairs while they made the tea preparations.

"What do you think of Neville?" Asked Luna.

"What did you mean when you called him 'The Boy Who Might Have Been'?" Asked Ginny.

"If I interpreted my vision correctly, Neville could have been 'The Boy Who Lived' and Harry could have been just another boy." Said Luna.

Ginny starred at Luna in shock for several minutes before asking how she figured this out.

Luna tried to explain her vision to Ginny and finally suggested that Harry would likely explain it better when he explained the prophesy and what he was doing with Dumbledore the night he died."

"You're telling me that all the fantasies, dreams and love I've had for Harry all these years could have been for Neville?"

"It could have been Neville's face", said Luna, "in all those dreams, instead of Harry's. You've got to admit that Neville's got a lot more confidence now, since the D. O. M. adventure we had."

"True enough," replied Ginny, "and he's an energetic dance partner too."

They both giggled while they brought the refreshments outside.

The trio started to bring the newcomers up to speed on the concept of Horcruxes, then briefly went over the prophesy and explaining how Voldemort could have chosen either Harry or Neville to be 'The Boy Who Lived'.

Hermione then explained what Horcruxes were and started on the known Horcruxes with Tom's Diary. Ginny gasped quite noticeably when she realized the implications of the Diary. Neville quickly put a comforting arm around her and they leaned together.

The next was the ring that essentially killed Dumbledore's wand arm, and finally the locket that he and Harry went to collect the night Snape killed him.

Harry described the locket as best he could, but said they could see it in one of the memories he was going to show them as well as Hufflepuff's Cup. Then Harry explained that they needed to find two more soul fragments, one could be hiding in something of Gryffindor's or Ravenclaw's, and the last one was probably Nagini, Voldemort's pet snake.

Ginny, Neville and Luna asked questions and prompted for more information during the explanations. To many of the questions, Harry replied that they would see the memories soon and that prompted a discussion of where and when.

Hermione suggested that she would get in contact with McGonagall and try to arrange to go to Hogwarts on Friday for the day or maybe two. That would give them time to go through some memories and perhaps McGonagall would get them started on Animagus lessons.

They agreed on a time that they could all meet at The Burrow Friday morning and use Fawkes to apparate to Hogwarts.

They talked until nearly suppertime, then all six floo'd over to The Burrow. Mrs Weasley had invited them all to stay for supper. Neville and Luna thanked Molly but made their excuses and left for their homes. Molly then insisted that Harry and Hermione stay for supper. After getting a nod from both Ron and Ginny they accepted.

As usual Molly's cooking was superb and there was more than enough to satisfy everyone. After their meal Harry brought the conversation around to his trip to Diagon Alley and Gringotts. During the conversation he mentioned offhandedly that he had arranged to transfer some gold to their vault. He then asked Molly to take care of wedding presents for Bill and Fleur from himself and Hermione as Molly was certain to know what they would need and any leftovers they could use to help with the wedding. He didn't actually tell Molly or Arthur how much he transferred into their vault and that worked out well as they didn't make a fuss over Harry or try to refuse it. When the Weasleys finally went to their vault and found out how much was in there, Harry suspected that the Goblin that took them to their vault might hear a few choice words in shocked surprise. By the time Arthur and Molly tracked down Harry, he hoped they would have gotten over the shock.

After the conversation died down, Harry and Hermione thanked Molly for supper and made their excuses to leave. Once they were far enough away from the house, Hermione apparated both of them to her bedroom.

"That was pretty smooth Potter, I don't think they'll be expecting more than a few hundred galleons, maybe a thousand." Said Hermione as she turned to face him, "When they find out there's over a hundred thousand, they'll think it's a mistake and try to return it."

"Yes, I expect that too, it's a good thing I asked Ragnok not to allow them to return it. By the time they find me, they'll have calmed down enough to reason with I hope. They were looking deep into each others eyes and sensing their desires. They wrapped their arms around each other as shivers ran through their bodies and they settled for a passionate room renovating snog. They were blissfully unaware of their surroundings for a couple of minutes.

Dan and Emma were standing in the door, they had rushed upstairs thinking there was some kind of battle going on in their daughters bedroom. When they arrived, they found the bedroom door swinging open and shut and books, cosmetics, clothes and other items swirling around the pair as if caught in a hurricane. The desk, dresser and bed were also making their way around the floor, though at a more leisurely pace. The noise from the scraping of furniture legs and crashing of other flying items was almost deafening.

As their snog wound down, all the moving furniture stopped and the flying items slowed and fell to the floor. When they finally broke apart, weak kneed and shaking, they just clung to each other trying to breathe and recover. Harry was facing the bedroom door, with his eyes partly opened and starting to focus. He could make out two shadows in the doorway. He was still recovering from his state of euphoria when light started filling into the shadows and soon he was able to recognize her parents and then their shocked expression. He released Hermione as he whispered, "We're busted … your parents are watching." In her ear.

"Too bad, you're mine … they can't have you." She said in reply.

Moments after that Harry said, "We trashed your bedroom dear."

Hermione groaned and said, "I don't want to know." She didn't even try to look around; she buried her head deeper in Harry's chest and groaned again hugging him tighter.

The Grangers had recovered somewhat and Dan cleared his throat attempting to gain their attention.

Harry concentrated and cleared a path through the wreckage to the door. He wrapped his arm around Hermione's back and the other one behind her knees picking her up. He then carefully made his way to the door. The Grangers moved aside letting them through. The door then closed behind Harry.

"I'll …" Said Harry, then realizing he didn't know where everything was supposed to go, continued, "We'll … clean it up later."

"Do you mind explaining what happened Harry?" Asked Dan.

"I'm not sure I fully understand the phenomenon myself, but I'll try. Come on into my room, I think Hermione wants to lie down for a few minutes." Replied Harry. The Grangers followed him into his bedroom and he carefully put Hermione down on the bed, she promptly curled up into a fetal position facing away from them. Harry took her hand in his.

"Honey, what's wrong?" Emma asked, her voice full of concern.

"Nothing Mum … I'm just terribly embarrassed that you saw that." She said in a soft voice.

"Oh … was that supposed to be embarrassing?" Emma asked Harry.

"Well … if that happened at school, most everyone would know what it means and I'm sure it wouldn't take more than ten minutes for the news to travel around the school." Said Harry, "Then we would be teased about it for the rest of the year."

"I take it that it has to do with the love you feel for each other?" said Emma.

"That and a couple of other factors." Said Harry, "The amount of raw magical power that we each have and the compatibility of our magic. I guess I've been too stubborn or too scared to accept that we should have been together long ago. Our magic for want of a better term is so compatible that we can sense each others feelings, even from a distance, I don't know exactly how far, but several rooms apart. A spell that would be difficult for one of us alone is easy if we're together because we can each draw on the others magical energy."

"That's interesting," Said Dan, "but that doesn't explain what happened in Hermione's room."

"I was just about there." Said Harry. "When we kiss … passionately like we were, then we … forget to consciously try to control our magic, it sort of gets a mind of its own. Because we can sense each others feelings … subconsciously we try to make each other … feel better, to please each other. In doing that, we … forget ourselves and our energy joins, and some of it gets loose and the result is what you saw."

Hermione mumbled something that sounded like agreement and rolled over to face in their direction, but still curled up.

"We agreed not to let it happen in the house for obvious reasons. Today was quite stressful. I had some issues to deal with at the Weasleys and we weren't sure what Luna really wanted out of her invitation to tea. In the end it all worked out well, and when we arrived back here, it was such a relief that we just let go."

Harry turned to Hermione and said, "Alright, you're feeling better now, sit up and face your parents. If they were going to get mad, they would have by now."

"Mhmm," she said as she straightened out on the bed. She pulled him down on top of her and gave him a controlled, but passionate kiss.

Dan eventually cleared his throat moments before they would have had to come up for air anyway. They broke apart and Harry helped her to a sitting position.

"I thought your father and I connected very well, but I am beginning to see that you and Harry are more truly two people that are becoming one."

"You two look like you've had a long day. I'm sure you can shuffle the mess in the other room off to one side for tonight and get some sleep. Tomorrow's a new day. Good night kids, come on Dan, say good night."

"Good night." Said Dan as he followed Emma out and down stairs.

They both dropped backwards onto the mattress with a sigh, intending to rest for a minute. They fell asleep. A while later Dan and Emma came up again, on their way to bed. Harry's bedroom door, still open, they could see the pair lying on the bed as if they never moved.

"We can't leave them like that … can we?" Said Dan.


	14. Chapter 14 The Talk

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the first 6 books in the Harry Potter series by J K Rowling belong to the aforementioned J K Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

As promissed another chapter, I hope to give you a couple more before New Years. Not that I'm begging for reviews - but - more reviews may bring you more chapters faster, at least over the holidays. I have been writing more lately so there are more words to release. Signed reviews will receive individual responses. Merry Christmas or as they appear to say in Brittan, Happy Christmas (to all, and to all a good night).

**(14) The Talk**

"They're obviously more tired than they thought. If they were going to do anything that we'd object to, both bedroom doors would have been closed and locked or they would have gone somewhere else so we couldn't see or hear them."

"I suppose you're right, it just seems wrong to … I don't know … the image of her being our 'little girl' fades quicker with scenes like that."

A few hours later an uncomfortable Hermione woke up. The bedroom light, still on and Harry beside her looking just as uncomfortable. She realized her parents must have passed by and seen them on their way to bed. If they were upset they would have said something, she thought. She carefully got up, so as not to wake Harry, then remembered her room was a disaster. She levitated Harry, did a warming spell on the bed and slipped him under the covers before magically removing everything but his boxers. She then transfigured her clothes into sleepwear and slipped in on the other side of the bed, under the quilt. Before nodding off she extinguished the lights, leaving the door open.

In the morning Emma was the first one past the open bedroom door. She intended to look in quickly to check on Harry, but the scene that met her eyes … shocked her. Emma moved the door as she entered to collect her daughter. The movement of the door made enough noise to wake Hermione who rolled slowly off Harry and looked up into her mothers eyes. She was fully awake in a blink. Hermione motioned to her mother to keep quiet, then lifted the quilt enough so her mother could see the sheets separating her from Harry. She took her mothers hand and called Fawkes over, Harry didn't wake as Hermione apparated out of the bed. Fawkes took both her and Emma to the kitchen.

"Hermione Jane!" her mother started in a soft yet stern voice, so as not to attract Dan's attention until she had sorted this out.

"Mother, nothing happened, we simply slept, it just happened to be in the same bed."

"I am not impressed, we discussed the rules before Harry arrived and in my mind this was definitely on the prohibited list. Has this happened before?"

"Yes." Was the only honest answer Hermione could give.

"Is it likely to happen again?"

"Yes!" was Hermione's response.

"Hhhmmm." Her mother growled in response. "Exactly what happened?"

"We were both lying on the bed, I guess we fell asleep after you guys left. I woke up sometime during the night, all the lights were out except the bedroom light. I was going to go to my room, then I remembered it was trashed and I was still too tired to deal with that. I levitated Harry and stuffed him under all the covers and then climbed in the other side just under the quilt before I turned out the lights."

"He's so warm", she sighed, "a little lumpy … but warm."

"Hermione Jane!" her Mum exclaimed softly. "That was this time, what happened before?"

"Mum, he has nightmares … quite often. He had one at the Dursleys. His nightmare woke me up, not from noise but I could feel it in my head, I could feel something was wrong. I checked out my room and it seemed normal, in my mind, I knew it had to be Harry. I went to his bedroom door and I could hear him, it sounded like he was trying to fight someone off … to protect me. I went in … it was only when I actually touched him that he was able to calm down and sleep peacefully. Much as you found me this morning, I climbed in with him and we were both able to get a good sleep."

"I know it doesn't follow the rules, and I didn't anticipate it happening when we discussed the rules. If the intent was to make love … to have sex … we could easily disappear to somewhere and do it. Making love to him scares me … if we can trash a room while just kissing …"

"Can you tell how Harry is doing from here?"

Hermione rolled her eyes back as she searched her mind. "I'm feeling some agitation from him at the moment. He might be picking up on my feelings because I'm quite nervous about what you are going to do."

"Relax then, if it's going to happen again, I've got to tell your father or he's going to be furious at both of us for not telling him, and he's going to think that Harry's taking advantage of you somehow. I'll talk to him once we get to work, he'll have some time to absorb it … I hope."

"It was my choice … both times … Harry was asleep when I slipped in beside him. When he woke up first, the last time, he actually hustled me out of the bed and back to my room."

"I know that in your Dads mind you're still the excited little eleven year old about to leave for Hogwarts. He's going to be in for a shock."

"I can't say that I'm happy with your nocturnal arrangements. It's obvious that you both love each other and he's trying his best to make us like him. If I had any thoughts that this was a casual romance or he was just in it for the sex, I'd put my foot down hard and stop it."

"Harry doesn't know you were in his bed all night, does he?"

"No Mum, not unless he woke up and I didn't know."

"He woke up first at the Dursleys?"

"Yes … he woke up before me. He said I was brave for taking the chance, and for driving off all the demons in his nightmare. Waking up in his arms was such a wonderful feeling …" The recollection of it made her quiver and tingle all the way down to her toes.

"If you want to go back up there and wake up in his arms again, I suggest you lock both bedroom doors so your father can't see in, otherwise I'll make breakfast for three and we can let Harry sleep."

"I had better not push my luck, breakfast sounds good." Said Hermione, "I was expecting you to be more … strict … more upset with me. I feel like I'm still waiting for the axe to fall … for the yelling and screaming to start."

"It very nearly came to that honey, I'm still not sure I'm dealing with you properly … with both of you. When I was your age, if I'd done something like that, my Dad would be chasing him out of here with a shotgun and I'd be grounded for life."

With breakfast over and the Grangers off to work, Hermione wrote a letter to Professor McGonagall about the six of them arriving Friday Morning. She went upstairs to Harry's room and asked Hedwig to deliver it. Harry was still sleeping; she decided to try to get back in bed with him and enjoy his comfortable warmth.

Hermione carefully snuck in under the quilt again and found a warm, comfortable location nestled up to Harry with one arm under the pillow and the other gently draped over him. She could feel his agitation dissipate as peace and contentment came over their mind link to her. Subconsciously he must have felt her presence and shifted around to face her wrapping his arms around her in a comfortable hug. Harry mumbled something that sounded like a contented sigh, but was otherwise unintelligible. As her arms moved to reciprocate the hug she realized that the sheets had somehow migrated down to waist level again. She knew they were up when she lifted the quilt to show her Mother … she thought … now she wasn't certain. Harry, apparently sensing her concern, moved slightly to fit her better and hugged her a little tighter before made a pleasant, reassuring moan that quelled her curiosity as she fell asleep.

A while later, Harry woke up first, or so he thought. Feeling very warm and with something snakelike wrapped around him snugly he woke with a start and smelled her scent and the aroma of her shampoo that still lingered, though almost gone. He relaxed, enjoyed and smiled, his pretty brunette had come back to her lumpy pillow. He slowly ran his hands over her back for a minute until she moaned into his neck, then he drifted off blissfully happy though not quite asleep.

Just before noon Hermione stirred, the call of nature making its demands. She hoped that what she felt was Harrys arms around her much as they were when she drifted off to sleep. She wiggled free enough to look up at his face where she found a pair of sparkling emerald green eyes looking back at her.

"Good morning love." He said.

"Morning." She said looking away, "I'd love to stay, but …" She stretched up to give him a quick kiss before saying, "Meet you downstairs in ten minutes." Harry opened his arms up to release her. She got out and up, turning away she said, "Love you." And left for the Loo.

Harry replied, "Love you too." And rolled over onto his back, closing his eyes to play back the last few minutes in his head. He woke up when she started to move, and watched her as she came out of her sleep. He would love to be able to watch her wake every day for the next hundred and fifty years or more. He heard her from the Loo asking what he was thinking about, and replied, "You love."

"What about me?" She questioned, thinking she only heard part of what he said.

"Thinking how lucky I am to be able to have you and be able to hold you, and watch you wake up in my arms." He replied, hoping it was loud enough for her to hear clearly over the sound of running water. Now he had the urge to go too, he knew there was another Loo downstairs. He threw off the covers and headed for the door, not realizing he was only in his boxers.

"I'm the lucky one." He heard her say as he passed through his bedroom door. He heard her voice no more until they met in the kitchen a short while later. In the intervening time he managed to complete his morning ritual and clothe himself without running into her.

Hermione was searching the pantry when Harry found her. He came up behind her and nuzzled her hair while putting his arms around her, then asked, "What makes you think you're the lucky one?"

"Oh, Harry, you silly boy." She moaned in reply, "With your looks, build and fame, you could have your pick of any girl in Hogwarts and I'm sure they'd all hop in bed with you … half of them would probably drag you to bed. Yet, you pick plain, Jane Granger."

"If we didn't have the mind connection, I'd be constantly wondering if this was some kind of horrible joke."

"If all those girls knew me and knew the life expectancy they'd be facing, they'd run … far and fast, in the opposite direction. All they want is 'The Boy Who Lived', the famous Harry Potter. Unlike you, they have no clue who or what, I really am."

"Now then, as far as hopping into bed with me is concerned … Unless I've had my memory modified, I think you've already managed to 'hop into my bed' twice in the last few days … for which I'm not complaining. I'd love to wake up with you in my arms every morning … I'm surprised we got away with it."

"We didn't … exactly." She replied. "Mum caught us this morning … it'll be okay. I was able to show her we were separated by the sheets. Mum wasn't impressed … but I told her it was my doing, not yours. You didn't even know I'd climbed in with you until you woke up. If it happens again, it'll need a little more planning. Dad will know by now … Mum will have told him, she thinks she can calm him by the time they get home."

"And when did this happen?"

"When Mum went past your room, the door was open, she looked in and the two of us were wrapped up together. I woke up and Fawkes apparated us out to the kitchen so you would sleep. We talked while she made breakfast. We got it sorted out … I think … she gave me the choice of going back upstairs to you or having breakfast. I thought it would look better if I stayed for breakfast … and when they left, I climbed back in with you.

"We had better get your room cleaned up so you can use it tonight. Tomorrow we go to Hogwarts … we need to send a note to McGonagall."

"Done." Said Hermione, "I sent it this morning, I hope you don't mind … I used Hedwig.

"On top of things as usual, Miss Granger." Harry responded, "Now if we happen to share a bed there, it won't be as difficult to get away with … as long as we don't give everyone our password.

Hermione giggled and said, "We'd better make sure to cover the paintings in your bedroom and mine."

"Or take them down and hide them." Harry had found some leftovers and warmed them, Hermione got some drinks and they started to eat while they continued their conversation. "Speaking of sharing the same bed, Harry … there are some dangers we need to discuss."

"You're very serious about this." He said, before continuing, "Yes there are things I want to say too … and if you'll give me a minute to go first, what I say may save you clarifying things later."

"Go ahead, I'm not sure where to start anyway." Replied Hermione.

"The last thing I want to do is hurt you, or hurt your feelings, so please forgive me if I mangle this … I haven't thought it through either."

"You know how much I love you … I am more than happy with the closeness we've had over the last few days. I don't want that to end. I would love to wake up with you in my arms every morning for the rest of my life, our lives. Maybe that's too much to ask of you at the moment, I don't know. The next thing is… every guy dreams of making love to his girl, and you are my fantasy, you have been for a long time. With the magic that escapes when we loose ourselves in each other, I'm scared of what that might do or cause should we make love. I'm probably going to need to take cold showers several times a day, but … I promise to try to control myself and my desires."

"Harry … as much as I love you, I want to make love to you as well, but you're right, it's too dangerous, you are too powerful to risk it. Part of the talk that I had with Professor McGonagall was about your magical power overriding the spells and potions that would normally keep me from getting pregnant. She agreed to ask Madam Pomfrey if there was anything that might be effective, though she didn't seem to have much hope.

"I suspected as much, though I didn't know for sure. I'm still getting used to us, to the feelings, this new reality. If we get carried away or you ask me to stop, I promise I will stop."

Hermione grabbed Harry and hugged him tightly while saying, "Thank you Harry, I've always trusted you with my life. Now I know that I can trust you … with me."

He put his arms around her too, and then saw the cutlery on the table do several small jumps. He said, "Dear, control your magic or we'll trash the kitchen too."

Hermione groaned, "Damn you Potter." And the cutlery became still once more.

"Don't blame me alone … it takes two to trash a room. Let's finish lunch then clean up your room." Suggested Harry. That didn't stop the exchange of affections … at least not immediately. Harry had only just realized that Hermione had been hiding her concerns, holding back her thoughts about them joining in that ultimate way. Not that he had or would ever pry into her mind. She had just opened up her mind and feelings a little more to him and he could sense the relief she felt in knowing she could trust him in every way to keep her … them … safe. He also thought he sensed something else, she had previously been thinking about them more as me and him, but now her thoughts were starting to change to us and we. He knew he would change his ways of thinking and responding eventually too. It may take a little more time … more getting comfortable with the feelings he was not used to having, and definitely not used to sharing. The dishes and cutlery on the table started to quiver again.

"Potter!" She groaned, "Control it." And he did.

"Methinks fair damsel," he said in an odd voice, "we need a place where we can let ourselves go and find out what will really happen."

"My bedroom isn't a big enough disaster for you? Not waiting for an answer, she continued, "You want to try to destroy a small village or something?"

"No …" he replied.

Tomorrow we'll be at Hogwarts for a few days, we can find some place … some time while the others are coming to terms with their new reality." Said Hermione. "I'd better clean up my room." She broke the embrace, giving him a quick kiss before waving her hand at the table and counter sending the debris to the garbage and the dishes to the sink.

He went with her to the closed door of her bedroom. She had her eyes closed when he carried her out last night so she didn't know what to expect other than a mess.

Hermione opened the door slowly revealing a little at a time. Not only were all the small items strewn around, the bed sheets, pillows and it appeared all her clothes were on the floor as well. This is going to take a while, she thought.

Harry said, "I'll pick up all the lose stuff, you arrange the furniture, then we'll sort things out." He attempted to project a series of images of the process into her mind and he could feel her mood brighten.

He concentrated his mind and spread his magic out into the room, to pick up all the small, light items. Hermione could feel the energy gently penetrate into the room and all the loose items, a few at a time, raised up to the ceiling where Harry stuck them with a series of sticking charms." Once the floor was cleared, Hermione moved the furniture while he rearranged the items on the ceiling into what he thought were appropriate groupings. When she looked up she found all the clothes grouped into socks, underwear, tops, and etcetera. The small items were in three groups, though not the way she would have grouped them and the bed sheets were straightening themselves out and being lowered onto the bed by Harry. Harry picked up on her slight irritation and penetrated her mind to find the cause. She started cleaning, folding and putting the clothes away while Harry finished assembling the bed. Once in her mind, he realized he'd been sorting the objects by what they were rather than where they went. When she turned back for the knick knacks, cosmetics, books and other items, she found them rearranging themselves as she would have grouped them. Harry had apparently picked up on her thoughts and was taking care of the sorting, he even repaired the few broken items. A wave of happiness engulfed her that startled Harry, had it not been for the sticking charms holding the items to the ceiling he was sure they would have dropped.

Without magic all of that would have taken several hours to clean up, with magic it took only a few minutes and their teamwork.

Hermione looked at her bed, impressed with the way he had put it together. Everything was crisp, flat and tight, tucked in the way Madam Pomfrey used to have them in the Hospital wing … probably the way his Aunt made him do them, she thought.

"We should start thinking about tomorrow, now." Said Hermione, "What we're going to tell them and what memories we're going to show them. I have only your descriptions of some of the memories Dumbledore showed you."

"And we need a way for the six of us to keep in touch. Should we include Professor McGonagall in the horcrux secret?"


	15. Chapter 15 A Good Sleep

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the first 6 books in the Harry Potter series by J K Rowling belong to the aforementioned J K Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

To those who took the time to review the last chapter and all those that have reviewed this story (and you know the meager few you are) please have a very Merry Christmas. I know this story doesn't have a large following and that's okay with me. I am writing this story for me, it is something I need to prove to myself. Some reviews that I get don't have a reply address ... to those wonderful people a BIG THANK YOU. Reviews that I can respond to, I do and a public THANK YOU to you too. To everyone: Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Here is the next installment - a bit of fluff and fun 

**(15) A Good Sleep**

"Let's go for a walk, there's an outdoor café that's not far from here."

They took their wands and Harry put some muggle money in his wallet. When they left Harry locked the house, Hermione took him the long way, showing him where some of the kids she knew from school lived. She couldn't really call them friends, classmates was the best she could call them. For the most part they teased her and made fun of her studious ways so she had no patience for them.

They walked, they talked, had coffee and walked some more. They decided not to have a group name as long as everybody agreed and Harry suggested seven silver rings charmed like the galleons for the DA. Hermione thought that instead of just Harry's being able to send messages, they should all be charmed the same, that way any ring can broadcast a message to all the others. They would include McGonagall in the horcrux secret and give her a ring so she would be able to call them and keep track of them. They confirmed between themselves that they were going back to school, though privately the horcruxes were their prime concern, not classes. On the way back home, Hermione led Harry to a small neighbourhood jewellery store where she found a selection of old puzzle rings that the shopkeeper said were popular in the seventy's. She picked out seven different ones and Harry paid for them. They arrived home a few minutes after Dan and Emma, having sorted out a rough schedule for Friday that with the inevitable questions and further explanations would probably get them well into the next day. If the Professor could start them on Animagus lessons they would probably be busy for the whole weekend.

Once in the house Dan and Emma separated the pair. Dan took Harry to the living room while Emma and Hermione went to the kitchen.

In the Living Room …

Dan sat across from Harry before starting to speak. "Emma told me what's been going on the last couple of nights. She explained the reasons for it and that you didn't even know Hermione had slipped into bed with you until the morning. Emma has tried her best to convince me to accept it. I want you to consider this from my point of view, a teenage boy, sleeping in the same bed with my teenage daughter. Under circumstances that I would consider normal, muggle normal, I would likely want to kill you. For now, I want to hear from you what your intentions are towards my daughter."

"Sir … Hermione and I are already magically linked to each other. It's not a spell that someone cast, it's just that we are uniquely compatible in a magical sense and we love each other deeply as well. I have no doubt we will eventually get married. If she is happy or sad … upset or excited, I can feel it in my mind. If she were to be hurt, I would know in an instant. If I were to hurt her, I would feel that hurt too. It is a double edged sword, as long as Hermione is happy, I am happy, if she is sad or upset, then I want to find out why."

"My intention, by or at the end of the school year, is to ask Hermione to marry me, do I have your blessing … Dad?"

"You … the two of you, are nothing like a normal teenagers are you?" He asked rhetorically, "I have some concerns, however, it's apparent that you two are somehow meant for each other. Yes you have my blessing, all I ask is that any babies come no less than nine months after the wedding.

Harry's concern immediately changed to elation as he thanked Dan.

Meanwhile in the kitchen …

"Mum, what's going on?"

"Your father was in a state all day … I pity his patients and what they must have had to put up with."

"Merlins Beard … what's he saying to Harry?"

"I have no idea pumpkin, can you tell what's going on in Harry's head?"

"Even this distance makes it more difficult to get into his mind. His emotions are easy to find … he's nervous … concerned … I'm starting to get his thoughts … He's concerned about me … He's thrilled … OH MY GOD!." She yelled as she ran from the kitchen startling her mother.

Back in the Living Room …

Harry was thanking Dan as Hermione ran into the room screaming and pounced on her father, hugging and kissing him several times while thanking him before climbing onto Harry's lap, kissing and hugging him too.

Emma ran in shortly after Hermione, confused as to why she was screaming, kissing an hugging Dan and Harry all of a sudden. "Hermione Jane, what's going on here?"

"That's what I'd like to know?" asked Dan.

"Harry just asked me to marry him and dad said it was okay." Screamed a crying Hermione, then with a little less enthusiasm she said, "well it was a little more complicated than that." And she kissed Harry again.

Emma responded, "I heard nothing of this in the kitchen, will someone please explain?"

"Harry told me he intended to ask our daughter to marry him at the end of the school year, then asked for my blessing. We weren't talking loud enough to be heard in the kitchen, how Hermione found out I have no idea." Responded Dan.

Emma responded, "she was trying to sense what was going on out here, trying to monitor Harry's feelings, and thoughts too I think."

Harry finally broke off the kiss so he could speak through a mop of brunette hair that was covering his face. "You've heard of mind reading?" he asked.

"Yes, they are in theatres from time to time." Said Dan.

"Well … they are probably wizards who've learned Legilimency. Legilimency is magic that allows a wizard, or witch, to see another persons' memories … to actually follow you in your memories, like a shadow." Said Harry. "Normally eye contact is required for Legilimency to work, apparently we can do it without the eye contact … at least between the two of us. "This reminds me Miss Granger," he emphasized, "I think I deserve an apology for that."

"You're right Harry … I'm sorry, I promised not to do that … I was concerned about what was going on in here … are you mad at me?"

Harry let out a sigh, before saying, "If I was mad, you would know, but you ruined the big moment … it will never come as the romantic surprise it should have been.

"I'm sorry." Hermione said again. Harry gave her a squeeze and a nuzzle, accepting her apology.

"Our ability to see into each others minds is probably connected to our ability to sense each others feelings … which is more like an awareness of how or what the other is feeling." Said Harry. We are already connected far closer than any normal marriage ceremony could hope to do.

"I thought Emma and I had a good connection," said Dan, "A good understanding of each other."

"We do dear," replied Emma, "I don't know if I could get used to the way they can share their feelings … though it would be interesting to find out.

"Two things, if I may," said Harry, "first … Hermione and I are going back to Hogwarts in the morning, most likely returning Sunday, then I have to spend Monday night at Privet Drive. Second, if it doesn't interfere with your plans, I'd like to take us out for supper. I'm sure you know someplace we could go … I'll let the three of you work it out … I'll be back shortly."

Harry went to his room to put the rings away and got some more muggle money out of the pouch Ragnok gave him, to replenish his muggle wallet.

Sometime after they returned from supper, they were all sitting in the living room and Emma asked, "Is it possible for your father and me to visit your school sometime?"

Hermione looked at Harry as he looked at her, then they heard Hedwig tapping at the window across the room from them. Harry went to let Hedwig in, leaving Hermione to field the question. She put an image of a chicken into his mind as he was opening the window, causing him to laugh and spook Hedwig, so she flew over to Hermione instead.

This gave Hermione the excuse to open the reply from McGonagall, leaving Harry to respond to her parents.

"If I remember correctly, the castle is magically protected so that you would only see a pile of rubble, mostly rock, and a 'Danger Keep Out' sign. I think also that there is another enchantment that will cause you to suddenly remember an important appointment somewhere else and thus turn away." Replied Harry. "Let me … us … talk to the Headmistress and see what can be arranged, other muggle parents have visited. I'm thinking maybe Sunday, and if we're finished early we'll have some time to spend with you before we all come back."

"That sounds wonderful." Said Dan and Emma together.

The conversation wound down from that point and everyone retired to their own rooms. Even though Harry hadn't known until the following mornings, that Hermione had been in the same bed with him two nights out of the last three, he still felt that something was wrong or missing and he had trouble falling asleep. He rolled over and that's when he could smell a faint trace of her scent in the quilt and sheets on her side … 'her side' he thought. He relaxed for a minute trying to sense Hermione's feelings and found that she too was feeling much the same. She was missing the regular thumping of his heart and the constant rise and fall of his chest, but most of all the Harry smell, his scent. He was never in her bed so there wasn't even a faint trace of him in the sheets or pillow to satisfy her cravings.

Harry could sense what she was missing and had an idea. He tried to project the idea across to her, though he only managed to send her enough of the idea to get her to meet him in the hall. Harry, dressed only in his boxers and carrying the shirt he wore all day met a puzzled Hermione in the hall. She quickly caught on and her top flew over to her hand, they exchanged garments, kissed, hugged and returned to their rooms. Each had a token of the other and the comforting scent to help them fall asleep.

In the morning Harry met Dan and Emma in the kitchen as they were about to leave. They said their 'good mornings' and Emma asked Harry, "Have a good sleep?"

"Yes," he replied, "Although it felt like something was missing at first and I couldn't figure it out for a while. When I did I was able to solve the problem and get a very good sleep."

"And my Pumpkin?" asked Dan.

"Still asleep, must be a happy dream." He said. Definitely a good dream he thought to himself as her parents left for their office.

Harry busied himself making coffee and toast. With the toast eaten and coffee in hand he went outside to watch the sunrise. Before the sun was clear of the horizon she had joined him, sitting beside him she gave him a quick kiss as she took his coffee cup. After warming the coffee she took several sips before giving it back, saying, "Good Morning."

"Good morning to you my love." He replied before inquiring, "Care to tell me what dream was making you so happy this morning?"

"How do you know I was having a dream?"

"You were too pleased to be just sleeping."

"Let's say that if you don't pry right now, it will be to your benefit later."

"I know when to shut it." He replied, "Are you ready for breakfast?"

"Where did you come up with the idea to exchange clothes?" she asked.

"I was lying there, restless, thinking there was something I was missing. I couldn't come up with any idea what was missing. I rolled over onto the pillow and quilt that you had slept on and immediately I smelled you, your scent, it was faint, but it was there … and I knew that was what I was missing."

She leaned over and hugged him. "When you came out dressed only in your boxers," she started and they both blushed, "I was really confused until I saw the shirt your hand was offering. As I was summoning my top, I was thinking I might try to swap for the boxers." She said as she put her hands over her face and turned a bright shade of red.

Harry prised her hands open and kissed her before she relaxed enough to open her eyes and look at him. He said, "Next time." They both laughed and hugged again.

During breakfast she asked him if he had read Dumbledore's letter, to which he replied, "No." She suggested he read it in case there is anything they need to know before opening the trunk.

"We should expand and open it now, in case there's anything we don't want the others to see." Suggested Harry.

"Don't you mean you should open it?" Questioned Hermione.

"I'm trying to think 'We' as in 'Us', and I don't think there will be anything I want to hide from you. You have as much idea what's in there as I do … if you'd prefer I open it alone that's fine. I'd like to have you with me."

"I'd love to be with you … I thought you might want some privacy … with pictures … and mementos of your parents."

After breakfast they went up to Harry's room, he pulled out the letter and they sat on the bed to read it.

Dear Harry

Much of your family history is unknown to you and I have allowed it to remain so. More of it will become clear as you come of age on your 17th birthday. For now you need to know that the Potter family is descended from Godric Gryffindor as was I, however your fathers side also has some Hufflepuff blood in it. Your mother, although muggle born, her family had some Ravenclaw blood in it and possibly another magical bloodline that was too weak for me to recognize. That puts in you the bloodlines of at least three of the four founders of Hogwarts. Your magical signature shows characteristics of all four founders, possibly due to the transfer of magical powers from Voldemort to you when he died trying to kill you as a baby.

As with the Chamber of Secrets there are other legendary rooms in the castle. One of those legends speaks of a Founders Room. To be able to find it, legend says you need a combination of raw magical power, the blood of all four founders and love for others. I am thinking that the room is not going to be looking for your blood so much as for the magical signature of the four founders. Legend says it contains vast magical knowledge amongst other things. Old and ancient magic I am sure, things that have long since been forgotten. I suspect Tom was trying to find this room, and, by his actions against you, it may now be accessible to you and through you to your friends. There is a book in the Headmasters Library titled 'The Legends of Hogwarts Castle' that will give you all the known information and speculation. I have added some entries of my own in it on other topics.

The key I believe is going to be 'love', Harry, something Tom Riddle could never understand. I believe that once you find someone to love, and that love is returned and openly acknowledged, you and your mate will enjoy a bonding of mind and magic that the world has not seen in many centuries.

You have the desire and drive to succeed, you always have had that. You need only the love of someone with and for whom to succeed, and the confidence to pull it off. With love will come power, the power, with training will inspire confidence. All that coupled with a good plan will defeat Tom finally and for all time.

The trunk was your Fathers, I used it to pack up what I could after your parents death. I put in the trunk what I thought were the most important treasures and all the memories they had saved. I also stored my memories of you and your parents as well as all the memories I collected of Tom Riddle. In the trunk. The vials are, I hope, adequately labelled.

Trust your friends and keep them near, you will need them. Live your life, find true love and make new friends. If you put those things off, then Voldemort has already won.

Good luck with your task and my best wishes for the rest of your life.

Albus

Hermione didn't say anything until they had both finished reading. "Magical signatures, blood lines, secret chambers, ancient magic, a book, friends … and love." She said, "We have a lot to find and do, but most importantly … you … we, have to live our lives. In all this mess … WE … have to make time for each other … or the love is put at risk."

"I haven't felt this hopeful, this good … this optimistic that things will turn out alright since I can remember … and you're the reason … I love you."

"And I love you." She responded softly as they fell backwards and rolled towards each other into a one handed hug on Harry's bed. "Control." She whispered just before they kissed.

Harry's tongue was the first to search her lips for an opening as their free hands made space between them.

Her hand found its way from his waist, up and over his ribs, across his well muscled chest, over his collar bone and around his neck as she let his tongue part her lips and explore her mouth.

His hand made its way from her waist to her belly button, then up the middle of her chest before moving sideways to cup her right breast as her tongue found its way into his mouth. She moaned into his mouth as his thumb moved in slow circles trying to find her nipple and tease it until it hardened.

Control … control, she thought to herself … she tried to push that thought into his mind too. She knew she was going to loose it in a moment if he didn't let up and break the action.

Harry could feel her passion building and he knew his was growing too. He was able to sense the point when he thought she was going to loose her control … and he broke the kiss while moving his hand away from her breast, up and around her neck.

They lay there looking at each other until they caught their breath, their rapidly beating hearts returning to near normal.

"Love you." He croaked.

She snickered at the rasp in his voice before replying, "Love you too." In a breathless whisper.

"We should take a quick look in the trunk and then get going." Harry said.

"Mmmhhhmmmm." She droned, still savouring the moment, not yet ready to consider moving. Harry could sense that she was still near her 'high' and so he remained … motionless except for resting his forehead to hers. Once she had absorbed all the pleasure she could out of the moment, she gave him a quick kiss on his nose, giggled, slowly rolled back and sat up.

Hermione reached out and took Harry's hand. "For the longest time … I thought you weren't interested in me." She whispered, "I gave up hoping … and now I'm so happy."

"One day we need to take a look backwards and see where we went so wrong in the past. Right now I think we're running late so lets open the trunk." He said as he took the trunk out of his bag and placed it on the floor.

He backed away from the trunk to join her at the bed and she cast a 'finite' charm to restore the trunk to its previous size. They moved forward to unlatch and open the lid. The top layer contained boxes and more boxes of small crystal bottles, each with a silver thread that was the memory. There were labels on each bottle, some more detailed than others. They read a few labels: 'Harry's First Birthday', 'Harry & James Flying', 'Sirius, Remus & Harry', 'Slughorn & Riddle', 'Ogden & Morfin'. Harry made a mark on the box the last two came out of and they moved all the boxes aside. With the boxes removed it became obvious the trunk had been enlarged significantly. There was almost everything imaginable in there from paintings and wizard photographs to broadswords and armour, clothes, books and tucked in a corner were two wand boxes. Harry pulled them out, then fumbled them, almost dropping them. Hermione took the wand boxes from his shaking hands and tried to comfort him with a hug. Harry cried on her shoulder for a few minutes before raising his head. Hermione brought her hands up to position his face so she could kiss him, and with her thumbs, wiped away the remains of his tears.

She whispered, "I'll put it all away and we can leave." She knew he would need help going through all the treasures and memories that Albus packed into that trunk. She would be there to help him, she was always there for him before and now she knew she always would be there for Harry. They belonged to each other now … and they always would.

She repacked the trunk, carefully putting the wand boxes back in their corner. With everything that came out, back in, she shrunk their bags of clothes to put in the trunk with the shrunk pensieve that was already in Harry's bag. Finally she shrunk the trunk and put it in her pocket.

Hermione pocketed both their wands, and pinned his Headboy badge on him … then summoned Fawkes. In a moment Fawkes appeared and took them to The Burrow. Ron, Luna, Ginny, Neville and Molly were sitting at the table waiting for them as they walked through the kitchen door. Fawkes flew in and perched on an empty chair beside Luna then looked her in the eyes. Luna immediately got up and Helped Hermione steer Harry to a chair and sit him down.

"What happened to him?" Asked Ron.

"I told him I was pregnant." Replied Hermione.


	16. Chapter 16 You're What!

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the first 6 books in the Harry Potter series by J K Rowling belong to the aforementioned J K Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

WARNING

Some of you may not like my take on Ginny. I see a fiery red head that has finally figured out what she wants and she's going for it. Full speed ahead and damn the torpedoes. It doesn't actually happen in this chapter, but the setup is here. As much as I hate the idea of loosing any readers … I will accept no flames!

**(16) You're What!**

Almost everyone looked at her in speechless shock including Harry until Luna started to laugh uncontrollably. The combination of her statement and Luna's laughter managed to shock Harry out of his dazed stupor and back to reality. He didn't believe Hermione's statement for a second, however, she was now the centre of open mouthed, wide eyed, state of shock, attention by everyone else until Harry started to laugh with Luna. Hermione was now the colour of a ripe tomato and ready to run from the kitchen until Harry spun her around and sat her on his lap. Hermione now started to laugh along with Harry and Luna … soon everyone was laughing including Molly.

Once the laughter stopped Molly came over to Hermione with her wand out and pointed it at Hermione's stomach while mumbling a charm no one could make out. Molly then let out the breath she was holding and told Hermione in no uncertain terms, "DON'T ever DO that AGAIN!"

Hermione hung her head over Harry's shoulder facing the floor. Luna piped up and said, "Mrs Weasley, don't be mad at Hermione, what she did shocked Harry back to normal."

"Not to mention shocking us all!"

"Down Mother, Calm Down!" said Ron. "No harm done, no one's pregnant," he remembered that after Luna's tea had broken up he went back to see her and he thought, 'I hope', "and Harry's acting normal."

"Mrs. Weasley," pleaded Harry, "Hermione did what had to be done … and it worked. I fully expect she would do it again if she felt it necessary. We had a good laugh after … so let's forget it … it's time to go. If things drag on we may be there until Sunday … is that a problem for anyone?"

There was a chorus of 'No' in response and Harry looked at Fawkes who promptly disapparated to the Headmistress office. Seconds later Fawkes reappeared and flew to Harry's shoulder. "Time to get up dear," he said to Hermione as he stood up sliding her off his lap and standing her on the floor.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Weasley," said Hermione still facing the floor.

"No dear …I suppose you did the right thing … it was necessary, just a little overwhelming for an old lady to hear. Please try to wait until I'm out of hearing range next time."

"I'm sorry Mrs. Weasley," she said again, this time looking her in the face. "Let's go … McGonagall's going to wonder what happened to us, and if anyone tells her I'll hex their private parts off!"

They formed a line side by side holding hands and in a wide, bright red flash they all vanished from The Burrow and found themselves in McGonagall's office.

"Nice to see you all again." Said McGonagall, "This is the group, is it?"

"Yes," responded Hermione, "Professor, we need to get some rings sized and keyed to each person before I put a Protean Charm on them so we can use them for communication."

The Professor's eyebrows shot up at this request, and she said, "Why doesn't it surprise me that you can do a Protean Charm." As she shook her head from side to side. "I'll talk to Filius at lunch, why don't you all join us in the Great Hall. Many of the teachers have already left for the summer; we can all sit at a house table and be less formal.

"We … Harry and I … have decided to let you in on the secret, trusting that it will stay within the seven of us. Seven being a magically powerful number that you may wish you'd never heard of. We have seven rings, one will be yours Professor. The intention is that any message sent out on any one ring will be displayed by the other six. Will you have some time to spend with us today?"

"I'll make time for this." Said McGonagall, "Let me know when you're ready for me."

"We'll settle in first and get everything ready … probably after lunch."

"Good … get going then." Replied McGonagall.

"Join hands," said Harry as he summoned Fawkes, and they all flashed over to the Heads Common Room.

"I was planning on setting up the pensieve and having our discussions in the Gryffindor Common Room." Said Harry, "Hermione and I will stay here in the Heads Suite, you guys sort yourselves out and we'll meet shortly for lunch. Do you want a look around before you go?" Of course they all said "Yes."

Hermione started off towards her room and the girls followed while Harry went to his room with Ron in front and Neville behind.

Once in Hermione's room, and especially after her remark about being pregnant, the girls bombarded her with questions about Harry, were they really in love, how was he in bed, how well did he treat her, but most importantly … had they made love. Hermione became so embarrassed she refused to answer anything except, yes they were very much in love and no they couldn't tell everyone or anyone.

"He's coming now and he's been embarrassed by the boys, but he's more concerned about me." She told the girls just before Harry burst through the connecting door. "We're all fine Harry." Hermione said, having blushed to a vibrant Weasley red.

After looking around and seeing the other girls start to blush he looked at Hermione and asked, "Oh … the girls giving you a bad time over that remark back at The Burrow?"

Luna smiled as though all knowing while Ginny looked back and forth between Harry and Hermione as though expecting them to sprout new appendages.

"The boys are right behind me, so I guess our tour goes through here on our way to the Common Room, excuse us ladies." The boys carried on through her room and back to the Heads Common Room.

"What prompted you to run through to Hermione's room." Asked Ron once the boys were all sitting on the sofa in front of a cold fireplace.

Harry held out his hand which appeared to sprout a wand, then pointed the stick in the direction of the fireplace causing it burst into flame as he responded, "The girls were teasing her about the pregnancy remark and it was bothering me."

Neville and Ron were staring at the fire in wide eyed amazement and barely heard Harry's reply. "How did you do that?" Asked Neville.

"Do what?" Replied Harry

"Make that wand appear in your hand?" asked Neville.

"You must have blinked your eyes when I pulled it out." He said.

"Stop showing off or our friends won't want to help us." Said Hermione.

"I don't know what taking up with Hermione has done to you," said Ron, "but you're becoming a very powerful wizard Harry. You'll be as powerful as Dumbledore soon."

"Ron, I think it has a lot to do with Hermione. The problem is … we don't have Dumbledore's experience." There was a brief pause and Harry continued, "You guys had better get settled somewhere before lunch."

"Yea, let's go Luna," prompted Ron.

Neville and Ginny followed them out to the corridor.

Luna asked, "Ron, I'm going to the Ravenclaw dorms, do you want to help me unpack?"

Neville and Ginny were, needless to say a little surprised at Luna's brazen invitation, but said nothing as Ron went hand in hand with Luna to Ravenclaw. Neville thought he'd take a chance as it sounded likely that Ron was going to get lucky tonight, and suggested to Ginny, "The Room of Requirement." Ginny looked him up and down closely for a moment appraising the offer and remembering what Luna said about 'The Boy who Might have Been' and Harry's explanation of the Prophesy a few days ago.

Surprising Neville, Ginny simply replied, "Okay." And with a smirk she took his hand and led him down the hall and around the corner. Dean and Michael had no guts, they never made a serious attempt to make love to her, they were too afraid of what Ron might do if he found out. Neither did Harry, but she knew it wasn't because of Ron; maybe tonight at last she'll get lucky. Maybe she'll need some comfort after she finds out what the big secret is all about, she thought. Maybe they both will.

Now Neville is getting nervous, he didn't really expect her to go along with the idea. They had talked over the floo a few times since Luna's tea, they hadn't even kissed again or held each other. Merlin … she's going to expect me to have a plan once we get to the room, I haven't even thought that far ahead, it's not even midday. If I ask her to think of something when we get there, she's going to think I'm pathetic. Think … think … need an idea.

Ginny was basically leading him while Neville was walking along like a mindless Inferi. Ginny was giggling silently to herself, thinking maybe Neville was so dumbfounded that she agreed to this obvious encounter. The truth be told, she was just as scared as he looked stunned. She was sure that he had never done this before and she hadn't either. Looking back at him she noticed a fresh smile on Neville's face that wasn't there a moment ago, he sped up even with her now and squeezed her hand. They were now approaching the painting of Barnabas the Barmy so she knew this was the section of wall. Did his smile indicate he had a brilliant idea for the room or was he going to ask her to think of something, she would find out soon enough.

"I have an idea … if you don't like it we can always change it." He said as he let go of her hand and started to pace back and forth three times along the section of wall while concentrating on his idea. When the door appeared he stopped pacing and took her hand, leading her to the surprise. He opened the door and allowed her to enter first.

Ginny gasped at the sight, it wasn't beautiful or ornate … it was a cave … well enough lit and with a roaring fire in the middle, the smoke escaping through a hole in the roof. On the left was a table that was made of a long diagonal slice of a tree trunk supported on two stone pedestals, with two roughly carved out blocks of wood for chairs. On the other side of the fire was what looked like a large bed. The base appeared to be vines and other plants, covered with two large, furry animal skins, both skins were fur side together. Ginny couldn't imagine what it might feel like, to climb in between the skins, bare naked. She quivered at the thought of that and a warm cuddly naked boy beside her. Slowly she moved in a few steps allowing Neville to come in and stand beside her. It wasn't until Neville put an arm around her waist that she noticed two normal looking doors in the shadows beyond the bed, one was marked 'his' and the other 'hers'. Clever boy, she thought, he gets bonus points for that as long as there's hot running water in there and a mirror. She turned her head and gave him a quick kiss and a squeeze. They then walked over to the table to put their belongings down.

backing up a little

Ginny had stopped in the doorway, Neville couldn't get past her to see the expression on her face or try to gauge if she approved. Ginny hadn't said a word and he was getting more and more nervous. Was she going to blow up at his idea … it was very Neanderthal … would she like fluffy and frilly better? She moved in … now he entered to stand beside her, and put an arm around her waist. So far so good, she still hadn't said a word he thought as he felt her arm moving around his waist. He turned his head slowly to look at her and felt her lips on his cheek. A smile crept onto his lips as his tense muscles relaxed and he let out a deep breath he must have been holding for a long time. She obviously approved, his knees were weak with anticipation, though he knew he would have to wait.

Ron knew where the entrance to the Ravenclaw dorm was, but Luna knew a shortcut. Sooner than he expected they were in the dorm and didn't need any password. He assumed that in the summer the passwords were not needed as there were normally no students. The Ravenclaw dorms were quite different than in Gryffindor. There was a large sofa in front of the fire, but there were more tables and chairs for studying. Luna led him to the boys seventh year dorms where they put their bags down on the two closest beds. Ron then sat on the nearest empty bed and motioned Luna to sit on his lap. Luna walked over giggling and jumped on his lap knocking them both flat on the bed. As she landed on him her arms wrapped around his neck and by the time they were flat on the bed her lips had found his and his arms were around her. His hands moved down cupping her bottom cheeks as she squirmed on top of him. Ron's tongue searched her lips and gained entry to her mouth … moments later her tongue was exploring his tonsils as well. He groaned into her mouth when her squirming caused a stiffening. Thoroughly pleased with herself, she broke the kiss and push off him to stand up.

"You're going to be the death of me woman." He said with a smirk as Luna giggled and smiled back at him.

"You want to let him calm down … or can I finish him off." She asked with a wide grin.

"Merlin Luna, you're hornier than a Crumple-Horned Snorkack."

"Oh, they don't breed more than once every five years Ronald." Replied Luna.

Ron shook his head in silence … there was no point trying, she had all the answers … just like Hermione … but very different. "We should go for lunch." He groaned, trying to think of a cold calming shower, while still unable to get the picture of Luna 'finishing him off' out of his mind. The two thoughts were completely incompatible and not relieving the now obvious bulge in his pants.

Luna was laughing so hard she was actually crying as she pulled him up off the bed and hugged him, rubbing herself into his bulge, exacerbating his problem.

Meanwhile in the Heads Common Room

"Harry, I expanded your father's trunk in my room. I'm not trying to hide it from you … I think I should be with you when you go through it … in case you … you know."

"Those wands just … I wasn't prepared … I'm sorry." Said Harry.

"That's nothing to be sorry about dear, it just means that you're human … that you have feelings … you care." Answered Hermione. "I have the pensieve and the box of Dumbledore's memories, do you want to get set up in the Gryffindor Common Room before lunch?"

"Yes, let's go, we should take our wands too." He said as he stood up.

"Here's yours," she replied, "I have mine."

When they left the Heads Common Room they spotted Ginny and Neville disappear from sight around the corner. Their Suite was on the same floor as the entrance to Gryffindor Tower. Harry said, "That isn't the way to the Gryffindor Common Room." In a confused voice.

"They probably wanted more privacy." Said Hermione, "I'll bet there going to the Room of Requirement. I expect we won't find Ron hanging around the Gryffindor Tower either."

"Where is …" and realization dawned on him, "You think Luna dragged him off to Ravenclaw?"

"I do … do you have the Map with you." Asked Hermione.

"No," he said absentmindedly as he was trying to think. "You had better have a talk with the girls … make sure they know how to protect themselves."

"Harry!" she responded in exasperation, then saw the look of concern on his face, "Yes … okay." This ought to be fun … NOT … totally tomato faced embarrassing is what it's going to be she thought.

"They'll get the opportunity to be with each other in a way we dare not attempt." He said with a lost puppy look in his eyes.

Hermione caught the look in his eyes and picked up on his disappointed feelings, before saying, "We can still have some fun tonight, besides, if we do that now … there won't be anything new to experience later."

"You can't miss what you've never had … I suppose …" he said in a disappointed tone, "Doesn't mean I can't dream about it though." He said in a little more upbeat voice. Hermione stopped him and moved around slightly to face him, wrapped her arms around his shoulders pulling him tight while resting her cheek to his.

"Your room tonight." She whispered into his ear, "Make sure you have everything stuck down including the bed."

Having automatically embraced her around her waist, he moaned softly into her ear before saying, "It's too dangerous for you … for us … you can't."

"No we can't," she replied, still whispering, "but we can still … have some fun."

They returned to walking hand in hand and were soon at their destination. The Fat Lady opened as they approached allowing them access to Gryffindor Tower. They rearranged the sofa and comfortable arm chairs into a circle then set up the pensieve in the middle. Hermione kept the shrunken box of memories with her to be safe and they headed down to the Great Hall for lunch.

Most of the teachers were sitting at the table talking when Ron and Luna entered the Great Hall. Ron was still a little red in the face, though his bulge had disappeared, Luna was smiling while holding his hand. Several seconds later Neville and Ginny entered, followed closely by Harry and Hermione. Poppy Pomfrey and Minerva were the last to enter and be seated. As Poppy passed Hermione she stopped to whisper in her ear, "See me right after lunch." And Hermione smiled, hoping that Madam Pomfrey had found a solution for her dilemma.

The teachers' conversations had died down since the students arrival allowing Minerva to announce, "These six are here to assist me with some planning to put a stop to Voldemort." She said as most of the teachers along with Ginny and Neville winced at the name. I would take it as a personal favour if you would assist them in any way they ask. Should they ask anything of you that seems unreasonable, please call for me. Filius I believe Harry has some rings he needs charmed, if you would please."

"Certainly Minerva, sometime after 3 this afternoon I should have some free time."

"Professor McGonagall," said Hermione, "My parents expressed a desire to see the school; I suggested to them that possibly Sunday I might have some free time to show them around … assuming that they could actually see the school.

"I have some charmed bracelets to use for muggle visitors, they're usually for Graduation ceremonies. Ask me for them before you bring your parents here." Said McGonagall, as the food appeared.

The teachers started serving themselves and the six teens did the same. Ron as usual loaded his plate to near overflowing, and then started filling his mouth to capacity. When Luna thought he had stuffed enough into his mouth she put her hand on his lap under the table, getting his attention, and then, looking him in the eyes, shook her head ever so slightly. Eleven years at home, his mother couldn't tame his eating habits or appetite, or she gave up trying, six more years of Hermione scolding his eating habits, to no avail … give him a week in the occasional company of a certain blond haired, fifth year Ravenclaw, and he was starting to become civilized … starting.

As lunch was drawing to an end, Minerva asked, "Where are we getting together."

Harry answered, "We have the pensieve set up in the Gryffindor Common Room."

"And we arranged the furniture to surround it." Added Hermione.

"I have one more thing to take care of; I should be there in thirty minutes." Said Minerva.

As Madam Pomfrey stood up to leave, Hermione said, "I have something to do also … I should be there in less than thirty minutes." Hermione, Poppy and Minerva left first, then the teachers started to leave in ones and twos before the teens got up and made their way to the Gryffindor Common Room.

Ron and Luna were walking together when Ron mumbled something about never being properly fed again. Luna laughed softly and patted his slightly bulging stomach saying, "I'll make sure you don't starve dear." Ginny and Neville heard the exchange, and while Neville only smiled, Ginny started to laugh.

Ron turned around and gave Ginny a ferocious scowl causing her to respond by mouthing something to him about him being 'whipped' and Ron's face went beet red. Luna tugged on his arm to turn him around, and then whispered into his ear so only he could hear, "Ignore them, it's me you love … and I love you too."

When they entered the Gryffindor Common room, the two couples took the sofa leaving three plush arm chairs for Harry, Hermione and Professor McGonagall. Harry took the one nearest Ron and asked, "Since we have time … does anyone have any questions?"

"Yes," said Neville, "Did Dumbledore say why V … V … Voldemort went after you instead of me?"

Luna looked at Harry to see if he was going to answer, but he was looking back at her, probably to find out how much she really knew. "Dumbledore found that confusing too … based on Voldemort's supposed beliefs', you … a pure blood … should have been more of a threat than me. I keep thinking that you got the worst of the deal since your parents are still alive."

Hermione caught up with Madam Pomfrey in her office in the Hospital Wing and said, "You wanted to see me?"


	17. Chapter 17 The Prophesy Revealed

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the first 6 books in the Harry Potter series by J K Rowling belong to the aforementioned J K Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

Another chapter for your enjoyment (I hope). This chapter has had some corrections and suggestions from hrypotterfrk8 that I believe will improve your reading enjoyment. Some reviewers have apologized for long reviews, I think that longer reviews are better. I'll be happy with any reviews, short or long. Thank you.

(17) The Prophesy Revealed

"Yes dear, have a seat," Poppy answered as she pulled several potion bottles out of a drawer. "After Minerva explained your special circumstances, I did some research. In a very old book that I found in the Restricted Section of the Library was a potion to terminate a pregnancy. It has a short shelf life, about a month and must be taken within twelve hours of an intercourse that causes conception. It's tricky to make and it takes two days to brew, I asked Professor Slughorn to make it for me to be sure it was done right. You need to use the standard contraceptive potion on a regular basis as this new potion requires the other one to be in your system."

Poppy taught Hermione the charm to test herself for pregnancy, then gave her three bottles of the standard potion and three bottles of the new potion that Poppy called 'the morning after' potion. They went over the potion recipies, dosage and timing details several times. Poppy had a fourth bottle of the standard potion that she made Hermione take before she left.

Hermione walked into the Gryffindor Common Room just ahead of Professor McGonagall and sat in the chair opposite Harry. That left the Centre chair for the Professor. Before she sat down, Minerva stood behind the arm chair and said, "If you want … your Animagus lessons can start tonight. There is one catch however, if I actually see one of you transform, I am required to see to it that you are registered. I would prefer not to have to register you as it may be advantageous in our fight against Voldemort."

"For those who are interested, be in the Transfiguration classroom after supper." Then Minerva conjured six books for them to read before taking her seat.

Harry stood up and said, "As an introduction I was going to play back the memory of the prophesy that is causing us to be here. Hermione, the bottle please." She took a small box out of her pocket, setting it on the table beside her chair before expanding it and pulling out the vial that was requested. She levitated the vial over to Harry who opened it and poured the silver strand into the pensieve. Harry motioned with his wand as if there was a vertical column above the pensieve. The air above it began to shimmer as he sat down, then the memory began to play back. Professor Trelawney's image was almost life size and each person viewed her as if she was facing that person.

After the memory playback finished, Harry said, "The glass ball that broke in the death chamber was a record made from this memory." He then picked out the strand and put it back in the vial. After sending the vial back to Hermione they discussed all the possibilities that they could think of and Harry pointed out that up to the point that Voldemort marked him, it could have been Neville instead. They all looked at Neville for a moment as Ginny squeezed his hand and looked him straight in the eyes.

Neville could see the beginnings of tears in Ginny's eyes, but the smile on her face told him that she was his, she wanted him now, not Harry, and he smiled back giving her hand a gentle squeeze to let her know he understood.

"Now" Harry said, "Professor Dumbledore thought it was important to understand Tom Riddle and the events that turned him into Voldemort. There should be a vial with the name 'Bob Ogden' on it. This time I think we're going to have to go in and follow along with Bob as he makes an official visit to the Gaunt family. There are two things I want you to pay particular attention to … Most important, although we'll see it again in a later memory, is the locket and chain that Merope Gaunt is wearing, second is the ring Marvolo is wearing."

Ginny was startled by the name Marvolo, she recognized it from the diary in first year. Harry catching on to what triggered her response said, "Yes Ginny, Marvolo Gaunt is Voldemort's Grandfather. You will also see Tom, his muggle father and Merope his mother." Hermione passed him the vial and he poured the contents into the pensieve and stirred it with his wand. "To enter the memory, simply bow your head over the pensieve and when you touch the surface you will be drawn in. At the end of the memory you will exit, if you need to get out sooner, simply concentrate on returning to this room. We will be able to see and speak to each other, but, the people in the memory will not see or hear us. Since it is one person's memory, we will have to follow that person. There is a lot of Parseltongue spoken in this memory; I will translate when I recognize it."

Harry led the way and they all dropped into Bob Ogden's memory. They followed Bob onto the Gaunt property, through the altercation with Morfin and into the house. During the story Harry translated the parseltongue, pointed out the ring and as Marvolo showed Ogden the locket on Merope's neck, Ginny gasped and Hermione's face lit up. They had both seen the locket before at Grimmauld Place in the summer after fourth year. They both got Harry's attention and Hermione let Ginny tell him. Harry questioned how certain Ginny was and Hermione responded that she had seen it too.

They had both wanted to keep it, but Molly insisted that it was probably too dangerous. They all wanted to leave the memory and go to Grimmauld place to find the locket. Harry insisted that they finish the memory as it was important, the locket wasn't going anywhere, or it was long gone already.

When they popped out of the memory, McGonagall asked what the significance of the locket was. Harry remembered that the Professor didn't know about the horcruxes. Harry explained that the Diary that Ginny was given in her first year, Gaunt's ring that killed Albus' wand arm, and the Slytherin locket that they hoped was at Grimmauld Place were all horcruxes and there were three more somewhere. Harry found out quickly that Minerva knew what a horcrux was, but she didn't realize that Tom had made any, let alone six of them.

Professor McGonagall's mind was reeling with the enormity and complexity of the tasks ahead of these six young people. How could Albus allow these kids to deal with this horrendous problem alone. She shook her head, knowing she was going to tear a strip off Albus as soon as his picture woke up.

"I'll contact Molly and Remus to have them look through the house for the locket." Said Minerva.

They decided to stop there for the day. It would be time to see Professor Flitwick soon about the rings anyway. Professor McGonagall suggested they go outside and enjoy the good weather for a few hours before supper.

Before anyone actually left Hermione called to the girls to follow her into the girl's dorms. The Boys looked at each other and then at Harry in confusion, as the Professor left through the portrait hole.

"Guys … I really don't want to talk about this … I know you've gone off in pairs with the girls and I'm not above doing the same thing. It's a wonderful feeling to wake up with your girl wrapped around you. Talk to your girl about protection … don't wait until you're in the bedroom, Do it when we're outside, find your own private place and talk to them. Trust me, talk to them. The girls will know that you care more about them than just getting your own end wet." Stated Harry who was now almost the colour of Ron's hair.

"Harry, have you even …" asked Ron.

"No", replied Harry sheepishly, "but we've talked about it … so trust me on the talking about it part."

Meanwhile in the girl's dorm …

Hermione turned to the other two girls and said, "We know you've paired up somewhere and I'm not here to tell you not to do it. You know the charm and you should know how to make the potion," she said as she pulled two bottles of the standard contraceptive potion out of her pocket. "I'll feel better if you take the potion, I just got these from Madam Pomfrey so they're fresh and made correctly."

Luna responded, "I'm already using the potion." Causing a stare from Ginny. "I make my own."

Ginny reached out and took the small bottle from Hermione opening it and downing the contents immediately. "I was going to use the charm, but the potion is safer. Thanks Hermione, I know I haven't always been a good friend." Ginny said the last part with trepidation, and then said, "I intend to change that."

"Ginny, you're very lucky that you never slept with Harry … he has too much magical power for either the potion or charm to work properly."

Ginny starred at Hermione in shock … not knowing what to say or whether to say anything.

"No, Ginny, I'm not pregnant … we found out, now we're both too scared to have sex."

"I … Oh Merlin's Beard … you can't even be with him …" Ginny said in a soft, caring voice.

"Madam Pomfrey found an old potion recipe to terminate a pregnancy before it has a chance to really get started. It only works within the first twelve hours, and only if you are already using the standard potion you just drank. )

"Hermione," said Luna, "Your magic is nearly as powerful as his when you two are together. As long as the two of you stay close afterwards and you concentrate strongly for several minutes on not being pregnant, then you'll be okay."

"Luna," Hermione said in a questioning voice, "where did you come up with that information?"

"What you said would be true, if … you had a normal amount of magic." Responded Luna, "You don't … Both you and Harry are very close in magical power and very compatible in that you can give and take magical energy between you. What you have is very rare; Merlin himself might have been the last wizard to be in your situation. I've had a couple of years to research this for you. I knew you'd want to know. Tell Harry so he can concentrate with you, it'll help. There are a few more things I know about you two, but that information can wait. Let's get back to the boys."

When the girls came back to the Common Room, Ron asked Luna, "What were you girls talking about?"

"Sex and pregnancies." Replied Luna in her matter of fact voice. Not only did the guys turn beet red, the other two girls did as well.

Harry recovered first because he had asked Hermione to talk to them about that. "We've been discussing the same thing, so perhaps we should leave here in pairs to continue the discussions on more personal terms, then meet up by the lake. Take the little books McGonagall left, we can read them outside."

When Ron held out his hand for Luna, Ginny grabbed it and hauled Ron, sputtering in confusion, through the portrait hole and into the corridor. Once in the corridor Ginny started to laugh uncontrollably at the look on Ron's face. Luna grabbed a confused Harry's hand and followed Ginny leaving a very startled Neville and a laughing Hermione behind.

"Come on Neville, let's go. Luna and Ginny are just having fun right now." said Hermione trying to relieve Neville's confusion.

Once outside the Common Room they paired up properly and made their separate ways to the Entrance Hall and outside towards the lake.

"Did the talk with the girls go okay?" Harry asked Hermione.

"Mostly … it had its embarrassing moments." She replied. "Luna doesn't seem perturbed by anything, they're both as protected as they can be, that's the good news."

"My talk with the boys had its moments too … I told them to talk with their girls to be sure they were protected. You were more relieved once we talked about it even though there isn't much we can do."

"Ummm." Started Hermione, "There may be something we can do … maybe even two things."

"Yeessss?" Said Harry in an inquisitive voice, "Madam Pomfrey had some news?"

"She did, however, I'm still concerned, it could all go so wrong, so easily."

"Explain it to me so I know. I'll abide by your decision. It's you that's taking the chance. If the results are not guaranteed, I'd prefer … well, I'd prefer that you … we didn't take any chances."

Hermione explained about Madam Pomfrey's morning after potion, that it was from a very old book and there was likely no one alive that could confirm it works. Then she tried to explain Luna's idea, but she didn't understand the mechanics of how it was supposed to work so she didn't trust it either. She felt they were more along the lines of backup plans at the moment.

"If you're not confident with a plan, then we don't take a chance. It would hurt me more than you if we messed up about this, besides I promised your dad that we wouldn't have any babies until nine months after the wedding and I intend to keep to that promise."

"Ohh Haarrryyy." She cried happily, while wrapping him up in a hug.

Not one to miss an opportunity, he hugged her back and whispered in her ear, "I love you too."

After a short detour through a broom closet, Neville and Ginny arrived at the top of the stairs that led down to the Entrance Hall. Ginny stopped abruptly and Neville bumped her, knocking her off balance, he grabbed her to keep her from falling before he noticed the same thing below them. Harry and Hermione were slowly pirouetting in mid air while in their embrace while traversing across the Entrance Hall. A few feet from the far wall, as if bouncing off something invisible they changed direction to cross the Hall again at a different angle. Ginny could actually see red and gold sparks emanating off the pair. Professor Flitwick happened to walk by the Entrance Hall on the way to his classroom and office. He shouted, "Twenty points each from Gryffindor." With a smile followed by laughter from himself and the pair at the top of the stairs.

That broke the concentration of the floating pair and they instantly dropped the few inches to the floor as they looked around, incredulous at loosing points during the summer. They both locked their eyes on tiny Professor Flitwick and raised him off the floor making him twirl around slowly.

Ginny shouted down to them, "Forty points from Ravenclaw for dancing without a partner."

Harry let the Professor down gently an arms length away, after Hermione broke her concentration to look at Ginny and Neville who were now coming down the stairs at a run.

"I can see I'm going to have to come up with something far more advanced to keep your interest this coming year." Said Flitwick, "Come let's do your rings, do you have them with you?"

As Hermione was about to say yes, Ginny ran up to them almost breathless and squeaked out, "What, was all that flying?"

"Miss Weasley," Professor Flitwick asked, "Have you ever heard the rumours of what happens when two magically powerful people let their emotions get the better of them?"

A little startled by the Professor's response Ginny stuttered a, "Yes … but … that's not the way I heard it?"

"Yes," the professor said, "the usual story has two purebloods and small objects floating around the room … is that the way you heard it?"

"Yes … basically." She answered.

"That is the usual story told by Pure Bloods to instil in others the myth of pure blood superiority. The facts are that it simply takes unconditional love and raw magical power. The more of both, the larger the objects that will float." said Professor Flitwick

"Ginny, Neville, Professor … please don't say anything about this, we'll try to be more careful so it doesn't happen again." requested Harry.

"Hermione, is this what you meant by Harry being so powerful?" asked Ginny.

Before Hermione could respond the tiny Professor said, "That kind of display took more than one wizards magic Miss Weasley. I'd like to see you two out on a dance floor … I think I'll talk to Minerva about that later."

"Come on," squeaked the tiny Professor, "Let's get those rings charmed, I don't believe you can't do them yourselves."

The four of them followed the Professor to the Charms classroom and Hermione described to him what she wanted the rings to do. Sizing the rings was an easy enough charm, keying the ring to an individual and the changes to the basic Protean charm would be very complicated. Filius explained the process and the charms to them and left them with some small rocks to practice on. When he came back he checked their work and pronounced it excellent. The final step was the actual rings. The four of them charmed one ring each then Hermione charmed the last three all at once.

Filius warned them that the first time a ring was put on a finger it would size to that finger and key to that person so only that person could use it on that finger.

The four of them put on their rings then Ginny and Neville took two rings outside for Ron and Luna while Harry and Hermione took the last ring to Minerva. Eventually they all met outside under a tree by the lake.

Harry and Hermione excused themselves to take a walk along the lakeshore. Walking hand in hand they were soon out of sight of the others. Harry slowed and stopped causing Hermione to look at him with curiosity in her eyes.

He turned to her taking both her hands in his and said, "You're going to think I'm strange, but I'd like to talk. I think it's important. Well … To me it feels important. I'd like to get a … sense … a feeling … an understanding of what happened over the last six years that brings us to this … here … today."

She stepped closer, "You're right, that sounds strange coming from you. I would have thought I'd have to drag you kicking and screaming through a discussion like that." She spoke into his chest as she threaded her arms under his and around him and pulled him in tight.

He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and placed his hands on the middle of her back, gently squeezing her to him. "I would have never thought this could feel … so amazing … so warm and wonderful." He could smell that flowery smell again, so he buried his nose in her hair to be sure it was coming from her. "You remember that first lesson with Slughorn, where he had all those cauldrons bubbling away?"

"Yeeessss," she said slowly, dreamily.

"The Amortentia … what did you smell? When Slughorn asked, you said freshly mowed grass and new parchment and then I think you blushed and it seemed like you were going to say more, but didn't?"

"You remembered that?" she murmured.

"I remember a lot of things you've said over the years. I smelled a flowery aroma that day, and I remember thinking I had smelled it before at The Burrow. I never did smell it on Ginny or I would have recognized it. I did smell it again recently."

"Oh … where?" she said in a dreamy voice.


	18. Chapter 18 Reminiscing

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the first 6 books in the Harry Potter series by J K Rowling belong to the aforementioned J K Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

**(18) Reminiscing**

"In the Heads' Common Room before we went to Kings Cross. We were relaxing on the sofa, your head on my shoulder, my face in your hair."

"Can you still smell it?" Hermione was getting curious now.

"MmmHummmm, it's a flowery aroma that's coming from you!"

"My shampoo. I started using it last summer, and it has some rose and lilac in it. That other smell I was embarrassed to mention in that class … was you Harry. I knew it was you … you almost always smell like that."

"Why didn't you say anything to me?

"If I had come up to you and told you I loved you then what would be the difference between me and any of a hundred other girls at school?"

"There would have been a big difference … you know me … you understand me. The others only want 'The Boy who Lived', even Ginny still doesn't know 'just Harry'. If I had realized where that smell was supposed to take me … to you … I … maybe this is for the best … we wouldn't have known the dangers back then … and there'd probably be a little Hermione or Harry crawling around somewhere now.

"There's a scary thought bringing a couple of little people into our lives."

"You don't want kids?" Harry questioned.

"That's not what I meant I don't want to have them right now … maybe not until Voldemort is gone, we can decide that later, after Hogwarts."

"There's a good plan," said Harry.

"Let's start at the beginning, the first train ride … what were your thoughts of me?" asked Hermione.

"You mean like when you came barging into our compartment searching for Neville's toad?" he asked.

"Yes, that's the first time we set eyes on each other … You remember I laughed at Ron's attempt to turn his rat yellow?"

"Drove him right crazy, you did. I felt sorry for him, but it was fun to watch I guess that was your first row with Ron."

"I guess." She said in a downbeat tone, then brightened up saying, "I liked you though … after reading about you … I expected that you'd be an arrogant prat … something like Malfoy … I was pleasantly surprised. You were actually quite nice compared to the kids I was used to from muggle life. I was always the by the rules, egghead, bookworm type and nobody wanted to be friends with me."

"You had the same lonely childhood I did then. Nobody wanted to be friends with me either. Dudley and his pals would beat them up.**"**

"Oh, Harry," she sighed, "You haven't said what you thought of me I promise I won't get upset if you didn't like me." She said in a trailing voice.

"I thought you were bossy and a 'know it all', but somehow I had an idea we'd get along alright in the end. I was right about you being a 'know it all' and you are bossy … but for the right reasons, so it's okay."

"That's …" she sighed, "Alright, I can live with that what's next." she said, "The Troll Incident."

"Yeah, I guess so" he said, "You've got to admit we make a great team, even as far back as that Troll. I think that's where we started being a team. You loosened up and became more human after that."

"But, that was more you and Ron saving my skin from that Troll."

"I think we all would have been in serious trouble if you hadn't looked McGonagall in the eyes and told her that outrageous lie. I think she was so shocked, she forgot to expel us, and then we ended up getting House points as well. Let's skip ahead." He said, "… When did you want me as more than a friend?"

"Fourth year I think, I wanted you to ask me to the Yule Ball so badly … by the time you and Ron thought of me, I had already agreed to go with Victor. I was so mad at you by the time you were desperate enough to ask me that I probably would have said no anyway. I figured … after that … you didn't see me as anything other than a friend, and I mostly gave up on you. What about you, when did you figure it out?"

"At the Yule Ball … when I saw you at the top of the staircase, that image is still burned into my mind. I'll never forget the way you looked, nervous, excited and incredibly beautiful. I never would have guessed in a million years, you could be that beautiful. I couldn't keep my eyes off you … Parvati got supremely mad and left me when someone asked her to dance. Up to that point in time, I never thought of girls as, Girls! You know I had a crush on Cho before and even after that, but I never knew what to do about it. I guess I had Voldemort on my mind and the impossible task ahead of me. After the Yule Ball, I tried thinking of us, but you didn't appear interested. I was afraid 'us' would split up the team, or 'us' would go sour like so many couples. I convinced myself that it was safer if we remained just friends."

"I wish it had been different." She said. "If we'd been together since the Yule Ball, I think we both would have been a lot happier. At least Ron has Luna now and Neville's with Ginny."

Their hands had been roaming slowly around each other's backs during the last few minutes. Now that the conversation was paused, they moved their heads so they were looking into each other's eyes and moments later they were kissing.

Once they broke apart, Hermione reluctantly suggested that they return to join the others and read the books Minerva had left them.

They were about half way back when a smallish, blonde coloured Centaur wearing a bikini top galloped past them before slowing and turning around. Both Harry and Hermione watched her closely as she turned around and approached them. There was a splotchy light brown ring around her neck, reminiscent of a butterbeer cork necklace as well as dot of red below each ear … the radish earrings. Her face, as soon as she looked up was obviously Luna.

"Hello Luna." Said Harry and Hermione in unison.

"Congratulations," said Harry, "I assume you are the first of us to succeed."

"Not exactly Harry … I've been able to do this for over a year now. The other Centaur's know … they allow me to join them and wander through the forest whenever I want. I was trying to help the others to see that it wasn't all that difficult … Ginny may have trouble as she doesn't know how to apparate yet and Neville may need a word of encouragement from you Harry. Ron of course is Mr. Negativity"

"What else is new?" Said Hermione. "He can be a little thick at times too."

"Yeah, but that's kind of a challenge … working around that while still letting him think some of my ideas are really his. Don't get me wrong … he's a brilliant strategist as you well know and very smart and capable in other things … Merlin knows, I'm far from perfect myself … as long as we can make each other happy, that's what really counts."

"Hermione … Harry … there's a lot of things I've seen," continued Luna, "and I'm never sure when or if I should say anything. For example, I knew I'd be a Centaur before I even had the inclination to want to try to be an Animagus and I know who will be a white phoenix. I know the creature forms the rest of our group could be if they wanted to, and I have some clues where to start looking for a horcrux. There are some people whose lives I might be able to save … if I tell them in time … and others I know I can't."

"There are some tough calls there Luna." Said Harry, "If you can save some lives and prevent injuries I think you should. If you know someone is going to die … I'm just not sure I'd want to know if it was me … I don't know."

Soon they were back with the other three and Luna transformed back to herself. Harry pulled out his wand and actually used it for the first time in a week. He conjured three small, plush sofas in a circle, if you can call three a circle, so they could sit in pairs and read through McGonagall's book. Ginny snuggled into Neville's side as they shared a book and Neville tried to elaborate on the process as best he could based on his apparition training in which he hadn't been entirely successful … yet. Luna landed herself in Ron's lap and tried with limited success to coach him through the book adding more detail and explanations where she could. Harry and Hermione proceeded through the book, discussing the concepts as they came up until they figured they had the idea. The main trick was that if you knew what creature you would be then you simply concentrated on that creature as your 'destination', the three D's of apparition applied except the destination was a creature not a place.

"Luna," said Harry, "I hate to disturb your apparent comfort, but it seems it will be much easier if we were to know what animals we are going to turn into. I believe you mentioned knowing what some of us will be …"

Luna sat up and held Ron's hand. "We each have very different shapes and some of us may need to find pictures in the library. Ronald, dear, you're going to be a small dog, Neville, you're an eagle owl and Harry … you may not like this, but you're going to be a snake." Luna paused for a moment …

"What about me and Hermione?" asked Ginny.

Ginny, you're going to be a spectacular Griffin … and Hermione is a …" was as far as Luna got.

"White Phoenix." gasped Hermione, "I hate heights and flying."

"Might not be so bad if you're doing the flying dear." chided Harry, and Hermione glared at him as if it was all his fault. The other four broke out laughing but Harry could see Hermione was not impressed … in the least.

"Wait till the next Quidditch match." Said Ginny, "They won't know which end of me is more dangerous." Everyone laughed.

"You and Harry both." Said Luna as everyone looked at her, confused. "An Occamy … can fly too." Now they all looked at Harry.

"I think we need some pictures." Said Harry, let's go to the Library.

Five of them went looking for pictures while Hermione asked Madam Pince for access to the Restricted Section to look for 'information'. She wouldn't tell Madam Pince what information she needed. After the gate was unlocked, Madam Pince watched Hermione enter.

She was used to the background noise beyond the gates as the old tomes muttered amongst themselves. Most students didn't use the tables in this corner of the Library because of the undulating drone that migrated through the gates. Madam Pince expected this, but what she didn't expect was the near silence when Hermione crossed the threshold. Madam Pince gasped, causing everyone to look at her, and she motioned Hermione to come back. Once Hermione re-crossed the threshold the noise level picked up again.

"All of you please remain here while I fetch the Headmistress." She stated as she locked the gates.

The students talked amongst themselves trying to determine the significance of the near silence when Hermione passed through the gates. Hermione couldn't remember anything in 'Hogwarts; A History' that could help them understand what happened.

Minerva returned with Madam Pince, both out of breath. As they recovered, Irma unlocked the gates again. Minerva asked Hermione alone to pass the gates. Silence ensued, though after a few moments you could make out the odd whisper from the books. Hermione came out and Minerva had them all, one at a time, enter and leave the section. Harry was last to enter, the ensuing silence was absolute, not even the odd whisper could be heard.

Irma handed Minerva a small notebook she had just borrowed from Minerva's bookshelf titled 'The Legends of Hogwarts Castle' before sitting in a nearby chair. The notebook was started by Rowena Ravenclaw herself and had entries from all the founders as well as Merlin. One section explained some of the obscure details of the school's library. McGonagall skimmed through the chapter on the Restricted Section and noted that when any of the Founders entered, the books fell silent. Further notes from 800 years ago mentioned that any direct descendant of a founder would cause the books to silence. She found another note from 550 years ago that said that several members of a family whose magical signatures showed traces of all four founders had the same silencing effect. The note continued on to say that the husband of one of the members, even though he was a muggle, also had a similar effect. Minerva read the passages out loud and then found another note in Rowena's writing that read, "Anyone who can silence the Tomes should advance to me and be recognized."

"There's a life size painting of Rowena Ravenclaw in the back corner of the Restricted Section," said Madam Pince, "Poor thing hasn't been cleaned in hundreds of years, no one ever goes in that corner. The books that are commonly used are kept near the gates as most students become spooked the further they go in."

"Well Harry … Hermione … The most recent note in this book is 550 years old, so I expect it has been that long since anyone has greeted her portrait. I think it's time to present yourselves to Rowena and see what happens." said Professor McGonagall.

"Are you sure this is a safe idea?" asked Harry.

"This note is in Rowena's handwriting Harry, I'm as sure as I can be that it's safe." said Minerva. "I will go in with you if you want, but I think you two need to go alone or together for the painting to respond."

"I don't like surprises like this," said Harry, "Come on dear," he said to Hermione, "Let's find out what this is all about." They entered through the gate, the entire Library became unnervingly quiet. They continued walking hand in hand to the back then turned left following the last row of shelves into a dark corner. As they reached the portrait, several wall mounted torches came alight and they could see the painting clearly. They both stood in front of the grimy painting, and waited a few moments not knowing what to expect. Hermione brought her hand across and down the portrait and it cleaned up very nicely she thought. Rowena's robes were a bright, almost iridescent blue even though the painting must have faded over the years. The trim and stitching on her robes looked silver, but in this light could easily have been bronze and her hair, a milk chocolate brown though not bushy as Hermione's. While the image of Rowena was slowly coming awake Hermione said to it, "My name is Hermione Granger and this is Harry Potter … we were told to come and greet ..." Was as far as she got before Rowena stepped out of the portrait and took their clasped hands in hers.

"A daughter of mine and the son of Merlin and Godric … it has long been foretold that we would meet during a time of crisis. Follow me." She said as she turned around and stepped back into and apparently through the portrait. The portrait was narrower than a normal door, though just as tall. Harry followed Rowena through and Hermione, still holding his hand came through last into a room about the size of the Gryffindor Common Room.

Once in the room Rowena motioned them to a round table with seating for three as a tea service appeared and followed her over.

While the tea poured itself, the sugar and cream walked off the tea cart onto the table and wandered around the table on short little legs. The now full tea cups and saucers followed the cream and sugar onto the table and positioned themselves in front of each person. Both the teens had come out of their state of shock as the tea distributed itself and they were looking around the room. There was a wall of bookshelves, full to overflowing of ancient looking texts and notebooks. Harry could see that Hermione's gaze had stopped there and she appeared to be trying to read each title from here. The opposite wall had a warm fireplace and plenty of comfortable chairs as well as a large sofa. The wall they entered from had a painting of each founder as well as a portrait of Merlin, all life size and narrow as was Rowena's that they came through. The far wall had a collection of weapons mounted on it and two suits of armour standing between two doorways.

Harry turned to Rowena as she spoke. "Though I haven't talked with many over the centuries I do keep an eye on the school. I can wander freely from painting to painting throughout the school and there are several portraits of me elsewhere that I can travel between. Hermione dear," she said, "I was disappointed when the sorting hat placed you in the House of Gryffindor … though it has been obvious since that time that you need to be there. I see you have noticed my personal library, there is information in there that you'll need. The books can be removed from this room, but not from the castle, not even onto the grounds."

"You can't be alive … not from so long ago … and you're not an ordinary portrait." Said Harry, "What are you?"

"I", said Rowena, "Am the cleverest witch of MY age and you are inside my portrait."

Harry responded with a look of surprise and amazement.

"Can we bring others to visit with you and learn from you and your library?" Asked Hermione.

"Certainly dear, but only those you trust with your life. Anyone passing through my portrait that intends to hurt you … either of you … or do harm to the school, will never be seen again. Those you bring through once will be able to come through on their own afterwards."

After Harry and Hermione had been out of sight for a minute or so the noise volume began to increase to its normal level causing some concern and conversation amongst the group. Ron wanted desperately to follow his friends even though Luna was trying to calm him by telling him that Harry and Hermione were all right. All the students were getting excited and concerned until Minerva placed her firm grip on Ron's shoulder, he calmed down and looked at her with a troubled expression on his face.

"Trust Luna." Said the Headmistress and everyone calmed down once Ron's agitation was eased. Minerva conjured a tea service on a nearby table, much to the dismay of Madam Pince though she kept it to herself as there were no books out.

"They'll be out in about fifteen minutes," said Luna, "Then we can all meet Rowena. Let's have some tea while we wait, thank you Professor. Oh, and we need to find pictures of an Occamy, a Terrier and a Griffin for later today."

"I can find those for you." Said Madam Pince.

All the teens looked in startled amazement as Madam Pince got up and strolled half way down the Library before turning down an aisle. A minute later she returned from another direction with two books and placed them on the table in front of Luna. "If you're taking them away, sign them out before you leave or I'll have Argus hunt you down."

"Thank you Madam Pince." Responded Luna as she, Ginny and Ron leafed through the books looking for terrier and Griffin pictures.

"And just who, if I may ask is the Occamy?" queried McGonagall.

"Harry." Replied Neville. "I'm an Eagle Owl."

"And just how do you know this?"

"I told them." Said Luna matter of factly.

"Oh," said Minerva, "And you are?"

"A Centaur, but I thought you didn't want to know."

"I don't want to see you transform, but I suppose I should know so we don't ignore you if you're injured. I think Albus mentioned seeing an unusual Centaur around here last year, was that you?"

"Yes Ma'am."

"Albus thought it must be a student, but we were never close enough to find out. I suppose you can apparate without any problems too?"

"Yes Ma'am." Said Luna again.

"These kids shouldn't be able to do that … they're too young … they're …" said Irma.

"They're a bright bunch too." Said Minerva, "That leaves a Terrier and a White Phoenix."

"We didn't say anything about a White Phoenix." Said Ron.

"No … Albus did … he expected Harry to be the White Phoenix. Is it you, Ron?"

"No … I'm a silly dog." He said as he pushed the book towards McGonagall.

"This one?" she asked, and Luna nodded. "This is a very brave and smart animal, not unlike you, Mr. Weasley. I'm sure you'll be able to track down a certain silver pawed rat of your acquaintance, without any difficulty."

That brought Ron's attitude back as well as his smile, he eagerly took the book back and thanked the Headmistress. "That leaves Hermione as the White Phoenix … that hates to fly." Said Ron and Minerva smiled.

They continued to discuss animals and Animagus transformation until the droning background noise stopped abruptly. "They must be coming back." Said Luna.


	19. Chapter 19 R R Rowena Ravenclaw

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the first 6 books in the Harry Potter series by J K Rowling belong to the aforementioned J K Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

My writing has slowed down, thus my posting is slower. I am having some internal conflicts on how to proceed that I need to work out. I would like to thank hrypotterfrk8 for his efforts to correct my mangled use of the English language.

A/N: The content starts to get a little more Mature, The next chapter will definitely be a full "M" or higher.

(19) R R_ Rowena Ravenclaw_

Meanwhile back in the painting

"Harry, you and Hermione will need to add more wards to the castle, some have been lost over time as the headmasters forget or feel they are not needed. Your magic is amongst the most powerful in this time, I can teach you both how to work together to increase that power even more. There are some forgotten spells, forgotten in your time, but I know them, that will help protect those in the castle and allow you to turn the castle itself against invaders. Part of that still exists in the moving staircases, they can be made to follow your commands, walls can be moved, halls can be flooded, and armies can be entombed."

"I can see in your minds that you have a few … more immediate needs." As two hand written notebooks materialized in front of them. Salazar's name was on the cover of the notebook in front of Harry and the Name of Helga Hufflepuff was on the cover of Hermione's. "The books will open to the right place when you want them." Rowena said,

"Put them away for now and bring your friends in so I can meet them."

Harry looked up at Rowena with some concern in his eyes, she responded, "I see you don't trust the snake man … yes … based on your experience with those of his house, I can hardly blame you. Salazar himself was a nice enough person, though some of his descendants carried his ideals to extreme. He was an expert in potions, trust the book, I won't give you help that I don't believe in."

They finished their tea then put the books away before heading to Rowena's portrait on the wall behind them. "Use some magic in front of my portrait and that will wake me up." She said as she faded from sight.

When Harry stepped through he heard the drone of the books die out and become quiet by the time Hermione stepped through. "No matter how many times I experience something new, it still amazes me." He said to Hermione as they made their way out of the Restricted Section.

Everyone was looking at them expectantly as they came into view. When they approached the gate, Harry beckoned them all to follow them and Hermione turned back towards the portrait. Eventually everyone including Madam Pince followed and caught up to Hermione at the portrait.

"Join hands so you can walk through the portrait." Said Harry, and he took the last position in the line. Hermione did a small cleaning charm to activate the portrait and Rowena bade them welcome as they walked through.

After introductions they continued talking with Rowena until they were late for supper and had to leave. During supper Hermione brought out her book and it opened to an explanation of Animagus transformation. She silently read the notes as she ate and by the time the chocolate cake and treacle tart arrived the procedure started to make sense. Harry was holding her hand under the table while devouring his treacle tart when he felt something like feathers in his hand. He started and looked at Hermione as she reappeared at his side. She had just removed a disillusionment charm from herself. After looking around, Harry judged that no one else appeared to have noticed, and then smiling to himself, he locked eyes with her to confirm what she had done.

Hermione was trying to instruct Harry by having him in her mind going through the book. They were watching each other so intently the others finally noticed. "Hey you two, unless it's personal would you mind sharing?" Asked Ron. They both focussed on Ron and tried to push the information to him in stereo which confused him all the more.

After supper was cleared away Hermione pestered Harry to open the potions book he received from Rowena and he finally capitulated. The page the book fell open to gave instructions for a birth control potion for guys, it rendered their seed ineffective as long as they took it regularly. It would take some time to make and they'd have to wait a few weeks after he started taking it, before the effect was complete. They would see Madam Pomfrey in the morning for her opinion and perhaps she could ask Slughorn to make it as he didn't seem to be going anywhere for the summer and it was tricky to make. The main advantage seemed to be that it could be made in large batches and it would stay fresh for a long time.

An hour after supper they all met with McGonagall in the transfiguration classroom and she started going over Animagus transformation as if it was a normal class exercise. Normally, most of the difficulty is in trying to find out what your animal form is going to be. Since they all knew what form they were going to be and most of them could already apparate , the only ones having a problem were Neville and Ginny and even they had succeeded in partially transforming after a few hours. When they called a halt to it a little after nine they were all tired from the stress and effort. They went back to the Gryffindor Common Room and from there split up into pairs before going their separate ways.

After strolling, hand in hand, back to the Heads Common Room, they had gone to their own rooms to change … she would join him soon and they would spend a pleasant evening and night together. He had left his boxers on and wore his pyjamas over top, the fireplace had a slow, warm fire that should last until morning and keep the night chill out.

He had finished in their washroom a few minutes ago and could now hear her in there running water and shuffling around. He sat on the edge of his bed and tried to calm himself … a hard thing to do when he was thinking about her and the close night they would share. He was concentrating on long, deep, calming breaths and trying to keep his anxiety to a minimum.

The next thing he realized there was a torrent of concern surfacing in the back of his mind … he was feeling her worry about something, and it must be significant to create this much concern.

He wanted to go to Hermione and comfort her, but he could sense that she was not quite ready for him. He waited, not wanting to push her into anything she didn't want to do. Eventually he felt her presence getting nearer before she opened the joining door to his room and stepped in.

She had her night dress on and a bath robe over top to keep her warm. This had sounded so simple in her mind earlier when she said she would be with him tonight. They would cuddle and kiss and maybe do some exploring … now this … she had hoped it wouldn't bother her to let him see it … touch it … would he be disgusted and turn away … she didn't know.

When she first saw him he was getting up from the bed and closing the distance between them. Her anxiety soared as he took her hands gently in his and looked into her deep and troubled brown eyes, his face reflecting her concern. Whatever she was having trouble with he didn't want to talk about in his bedroom, walking backwards, he led her to the Common Room then over to the sofa.

Neither said a word for what seemed like an eternity … and Harry whispered, "We aren't going to do anything that should cause this much worry dear, I'm simply happy to be near you and to know you love me too. Whatever the cause of your concern is obviously very real in your mind … please confide in me and we'll work it out."

"I'm ugly!" she blurted, pulling him closer she started to cry into his chest.

She caught him completely off guard; he was reeling in shock from this ludicrous pronouncement. The fact that he didn't make some immediate response, in her mind, only confirmed her convictions causing her to cry more.

Moments later he had one arm wrapped around her, holding her snugly to him while the other hand was trying to raise her head so he could kiss her. Harry had no idea what was in her mind or what would help her. When she finally looked up at him she saw the confusion in his face and felt it moments later when she searched her mind for his feelings. It didn't take her too long to figure out she hadn't explained herself … at all … and how could he possibly know what she was talking about. He'd never seen her scar … gruesome as she thought it was.

"I'm sorry Harry," she whispered through her tears, "That wasn't fair of me not to explain … I was so frightened with worry … I lost my mind there, I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted … please don't frighten me like that again. What's this is all about?" Harry asked. "Thank goodness you're calming down. That's my girl."

"I have a scar Harry … a grotesque and ugly scar … I'm damaged merchandise Harry." She sobbed at him.

"In case you missed it," he responded lifting the fringe of hair over his forehead, "I have a scar too and mine can be seen by everyone … let's get this over with, tell me where it is?" He asked.

She looked up and released her hug on him, he subsequently released her and she backed up opening her bath robe and letting it fall to the sofa. Harry wasn't sure where he was supposed to look. She bent over slightly with both her hands going down towards her knees causing his vision to drop in that direction. Totally surprising him she grasped the hem of her night gown and threw it up and over her head.

Harry caught sight of her knickers and clenched his eyes shut screaming, "Merlin Mione what the hell are you doing!"

"I'm showing you the scar. Open your eyes."

"And everything else too … no I won't open my eyes."

"You're not going to see anything you wouldn't see at the beach if I was in a two piece swim costume. Look at my stomach!"

"Maybe I'd like to discover you a little bit at a time and NOT all at once"

"I knew you'd find it disgusting," she said as she looked around for her night gown.

Harry gave in, "Okay, okay, I'm opening my eyes, please don't get upset, you're driving me crazy. I'm trying to be good, I want to be able to look you in the eyes tomorrow morning and not have to apologize for being a boy."

As his eyes opened and refocused, it was hard not to take in the scenery above and below her stomach, but he tried to concentrate. Finally he found a faint pink line in a familiar jagged lightning bolt pattern, going from her left hip, no, her right, his left, diagonally across her torso to her opposite shoulder. There were a couple of splotches where it was slightly more noticeable, but overall, you'd have to look to find it. "Dolohov." He whispered as his eyes began to tear. She nodded, but he wasn't looking at her face.

He dropped down on his knees and followed the line, delicately tracing it with his finger tips. He found some ticklish spots where she giggled and squeaked at his light touch. His fingers stopped at her bra, he returned to her hip and started kissing along the line. When he arrived again at her bra he stopped and looked up at her.

"My fault … all my fault … I should have listened to you … I'm so sorry dear … I had no idea." He stood and wrapped her up in a big teddy bear hug, crying into her hair, whispering "I'm sorry" over and over again.

"Not your fault!" she insisted after a minute of surprised silence, silencing him, I thought we were safe … I was wrong … my mistake, not yours." She said.

"When I saw you slump over … I thought you were dead … I was devastated … I didn't want to live without you … It wasn't until Neville said you still had a pulse, that I had any desire to carry on."

"Put your stuff back on … let's go to sleep." Harry was shaking from the memory of that night, as he released her from the hug and handed her, her night gown. He held her bath robe until she had slipped the gown over herself, then he draped the robe over her shoulders and led her to his bedroom.

Dobby must have been there, the fire was bigger making the room toasty and there was a warmer in the bed. Harry lifted up the covers as she dropped her robe and crawled into the warm bed then scooted over to make room for him. As he was finding his way in he saw her bra fly over the bed and onto the floor. He turned to face her, she still had her night gown on … he let out his breath and relaxed wrapping her into a comfortable hug.

"I was worried over nothing, wasn't I?" she asked.

"Yes … It's you I love and you I want, regardless of the imperfections you think you have, I think you're perfect … and I now have a valid excuse to run my lips and tongue all over you." He said with an impish grin, and she squirmed with a smile. Now, before we go too far … beyond the point of no return, so to speak … I have one … concern, I think … I don't think life would be worth living if you weren't with me. I want to be sure that … if we ever break up as a couple … we can still remain friends. I promise you that I will always want you as my friend … always … no matter what."

"Harry." She said with a sigh, "We've been friends for the better part of six years; I think we know each other too well for that to change for any reason. I will always be your friend too … no matter what."

"Thank you love …" he said as he kissed her nose.

He couldn't see her smile as her hands were slowly migrating under his pyjama top, over his stomach and up to the well muscled chest she wanted to explore. "How far can I go." She asked in a whisper, not sure what he wanted to do now … he was still holding her in a loose hug and hadn't started any exploration of her.

"… Trust you …" He moaned, "but if you make a mess …"

"I have to clean it up," She giggled and continued exploring his chest for now. Being away from home and with little or no supervision, they could get away with anything in their bedroom, _their bedroom she thought._ Yet, she was content to know that her worries were unfounded … he was there for her … she for him, and she couldn't be happier.

Her happiness snuck into his mind as he wiggled down in the bed so he could kiss her neck and work his way around her collar bone to her chest and through the neck opening of her gown. She leaned her head back as he progressed, making room for him, as he wiggled again and his face found an opening between her breasts, burying itself in there. Life couldn't be better … he could both feel and hear her heart beating rapidly in her chest. He thought he was now the happiest boy in the world and he could feel that she was happy too.

Through the night they changed positions several times and as has been the norm, Harry woke up first in the morning. Finding her head resting on his chest again and their arms encircling the other. He quickly realized that their arms weren't trapped between them and the bed. They seemed to be floating a little bit off the bed even though they were still under the covers. Harry closed his eyes and thought it was unbelievably brilliant.

A few moments later Hermione's eyes opened as she came awake. The slight movement she made as she looked up caused Harry to open his eyes and look down at her. There was a mischievous look in her eyes that reminded him of Fred and George when they were planning a prank. She started unbuttoning his pyjama top then whispered to him in a cheeky voice, "I'll wash your back if you wash mine … how hot do you like the water?"

"I'm not trying to scrub a Quidditch match off so it doesn't have to be hot … set it the way you like it." He replied with a quiver in his voice and a sparkle in his eyes.

"I'll be a few minutes, wait until you hear the shower running." She peeled open his pyjama top and kissed his chest before rolling over and getting up. After collecting her bra and bathrobe from the floor she left.

After last night there wasn't very much left to his imagination although a bit of her that he hadn't seen would soon be checked off the list. The thought of soapy slipperiness and both of them in the shower together was already raising his heart rate when he heard the shower start.

He slowly got out of bed, allowing her some time to adjust the temperature to her liking while he left his pyjamas and boxers behind. There certainly wouldn't be any modesty issues after this shower . The shower door closed behind her as he entered the bathroom. Whether she had been watching for him or had only just entered the shower he didn't know. He took care of some personal necessities before approaching the shower door.


	20. Chapter 20 Morning Dear

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the first 6 books in the Harry Potter series by J K Rowling belong to the aforementioned J K Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

Alright I think this one fully qualifies for an "M" rating. If not will someone let me know, please! The rating descriptions are quite vague.

I would like to thank hrypotterfrk8 for his efforts as Beta

**(20) Morning Dear**

"Come in." She said as she sensed his trepidation. The shower was quite large, you could crowd ten or twelve people in it and the water spray was in the middle. She was on the far side of the streaming water, her back to him and soaping herself as he walked in. Her normally bushy hair now wet and straight was draped just past her shoulders. The curves in her back and waist rounding over her hips and down those long, shapely legs aroused him instantly, his heart was racing already in anticipation, though of what exactly he wasn't sure. He slowly came through the water stream to stand behind her, and as his arms reached around to take her soap she spun to face him, then crushed into him squirming and wiggling her soapy body against his and in the process making him slippery. He groaned as he tried to grasp her and stop her gyrations. The soap, now on his hands and on her, made holding her still very difficult. Her hands were holding his butt and pressing him against her as she wiggled, making a near impossible situation for him that much worse … or better. He tensed and twitched before she released her grip on his butt. He mistakenly thought he might have a minute to regroup and settle his urges when she grasped him firmly. He jerked at her unexpected action, and she stroked him. She knew he was tensed and trying desperately to hold back … she pleaded with him, "Relax Harry, let it go … let yourself go and relax." His knees almost buckled under him and he grabbed the exposed overhead water pipes for support. Having lost any reason to hold back, he thrust through her grip several times spraying his seed over her hand and their stomachs before groaning in relief.

A couple of minutes passed before he felt confident enough that his knees would hold him up. She was now hugging him with both arms, all the while raining kisses over his neck and chest. Finally his arms gently wrapped around her and she looked pleadingly up and into his eyes. He kissed her lips quickly and slowly turned her around. The shower water had gradually rinsed then both off and he wanted something slippery to disguise what he thought were his rough and calloused hands.

Harry found the soap and quickly worked up a lather in his hands. While pressed into her back and kissing her neck, he started making slow circles with his soapy hands on her stomach. From all the points of his contact she could feel the tingling spread throughout her slender frame. His hands were spreading warm fire both up into her chest and down into her centre. She backed him into a wall and sighed while pressing herself into him. Hermione then leaned her head to give him better access to her neck. Both his hands worked their way up to explore and caress her. Her breathing, though somewhat controlled was rapid and her heart was pounding in her chest. His right hand started on a downward trek to the place where no man had been before. In nervous anticipation she lifted her right leg resting her foot lightly on his knee for support, giving him access to her. His fingers were now stroking through the curls of her pubic hair driving her heart and breathing to their limits. His hand followed down over her mound while one finger slipped between her folds causing a loud moan as she trembled from head to foot. He worked his finger through her slowly and found a spot that made her shake and moan. Soon, as he worked that spot, she cried out, "Harry, Harry … HARRY!" before she exploded with internal pleasure and then collapsed in his arms, every nerve in her body screaming in pleasure, she was exhausted. A surge of euphoric bliss ran through her as her right foot slipped off his knee and her leg came down trapping his hand in her centre just before both knees gave out. Harry's right hand and quick reflexes were all that kept her from collapsing on the shower floor as his left hand that was around her was so slippery with soap it could barely keep her upright.

When she could again support herself on one leg, her other leg opened to release his hand which he grudgingly took back.

She turned to face him and they hugged each other with a whole different meaning and appreciation of what they could do for each other.

"You realize we're going to start acting differently between ourselves and the others are going to notice a change." She said.

"Huh … how so?" He queried, not having thought about this before.

"Our actions, touching, holding hands, kissing has always been controlled by our inhibitions and modesty. Now that we're starting to thoroughly explore each other and understand the depth of our love, the modesty and inhibitions that controlled our actions will significantly change. How we interact with each other in private and around others will change, it can't help but change."

"With any luck," said Harry, "The other couples will be in the same situation and may be too absorbed in themselves to notice us."

"Maybe Neville and Ginny will but, I've got a feeling Ron and Luna have made love before." Said Hermione. "I hope McGonagall and my parents don't pick up on it. Let's rinse, dry off and get dressed."

They rinsed, turned off the water, and then performed drying spells on each other. As Hermione left the shower she stumbled slightly and Harry caught her. She apologized saying her legs still felt like jelly. He helped her to her room, picked her up and placed her on the bed before climbing in beside her. They hugged and traded a few quick kisses before she whispered, "Do you see what I mean about our changing reactions, last night we would not have been naked in each others presence. Had this happened last night we would have been so embarrassed we'd run the other way. Now we're naked, hugging, kissing and lying in bed and neither of us is turning away or apologizing or embarrassed. I would be quite happy to have a nap in your arms right now."

"Go right ahead." He said, his fingers were now stroking through her hair. "I'll join you." When she purred in his ear, he smiled, he now knew she liked his fingers in her hair … soon they had both fallen asleep.

Harry was just starting to stir when Dobby popped into Hermione's room with a loud crack jarring them both awake. Knowing where they were he popped in facing away from them and said. "Your friends is just starting to get up Harry Potter Sir. I can guide them to the Gryffindor Common Room if you likes and have breakfast there for you all."

Hermione and Harry both jumped at the noise, but recognized the voice a moment later. Not having any covers over them, Hermione hugged Harry tightly to cover herself while he looked up to find Dobby facing away from them. Dobby raised a hand and snapped his fingers creating a warm quilt that settled over the pair covering them. "Dobby apologizes for the intrusion, but he thought you might want to appear to have been waiting for them to arrive. Headmistress McGonagall's meeting with the Board of Governors should be over in two hours."

"Thank you Dobby," replied Harry, "There will be extra socks in your Christmas present this year."

"Dobby thanks you Sir, it is an honour to be of service to Harry Potter Sir … and his Hermy."

"Thank you Dobby, now if you'll guide the others then we can get dressed." Said Harry as Hermione smiled into his chest.

"Oh … yes Sir … Dobby is gone Sir and Miss." Then with another loud crack he disappeared.

"Love you." He said.

She groaned and replied, "I don't want to get up, you're so warm."

"Let's get going … maybe we can find a way to embarrass the others?"

Harry and Hermione barely made it into the Gryffindor Common Room before Ginny and Neville rounded the corner into the same hallway. Harry quickly lit a warming fire in the fireplace and sat on the sofa, Hermione sat in his lap wrapping her arms around his neck as the portrait of the Fat Lady opened. Hermione stealthily slid over beside Harry and started a conversation about which memories they should see today, hoping Harry would keep up his end of the fake discussion.

Ginny came through the opening with a beaming grin on her face while Neville looked like the cat that was pulled through a key hole backwards, dead, beat, ruffled and flustered. Neville stumbled to the nearest arm chair thinking he could sit by himself for a while. To his surprise, once he flopped down in the chair, Ginny hopped into his lap making him groan as they wrapped their arms around each other.

"Have trouble sleeping Neville?" asked Harry.

"No Harry … unless you count a certain red head that kept waking me up and wanting attention all night."

"I don't know if I'd put it that way to Ron." Responded Harry, "Maybe you should tell him that Ginny snores."

"I do NOT … it's Ron that snores and you know that very well." Shouted Ginny.

Harry responded, "And just how am I supposed to know that you DON'T snore Ginny?" asked Harry.

Ginny stuttered something about "you wouldn't know." As she and Neville blushed the shade of a ripe cherry tomato. The Portrait opened again allowing Luna to pull Ron through the opening. They both looked cheery and content with themselves as they sat on the other end of the Sofa.

Harry was about to say that Dobby would have breakfast here soon when there was a loud crack announcing Dobby's presence. Dobby snapped his fingers and two study tables came together, another snap put breakfast for six on the long table and another snap arranged the chairs for them. "Harry Potter Sir, when you is done simply snap your fingers and the table will clear Sir." With another loud crack Dobby was gone.

"Thank you Dobby." Said Harry, "Ron, there's food on the table, why are you still sitting there?"

Meanwhile Ron was looking at Luna with a pained expression on his face, essentially pleading for permission to move. The other two couples quickly picked up on this and started laughing, causing Luna to give in and nod in permission. Ron helped Luna up then made it to the table first, as one would normally expect, but instead of sitting and filling his plate he held a chair for Luna and waited for her.

Ginny had noticed her brother's odd behaviour yesterday at meals and chalked it up to his trying to impress Luna, now she wasn't so sure if that was all there was to it. The other two boys, not to be outdone by Ron, held chairs for their girls too, finally everyone was seated.

Harry asked Luna, partly in jest, "May we start now?" To which Luna stuck out her tongue at him before nodding.

After breakfast Harry snapped his fingers, clearing the table and in moments the girls all disappeared into the girl's dormitory.

"They must be comparing notes about us." Harry said. "Ron, is Luna really worth the changes you're going through?"

"Yeah …" Ron said, "I wish I stopped calling her Looney a few years ago, I never would have bothered trying to make a go with Hermione. Neville what happened to you?"

"Your sister happened to me!" Neville said accusingly.

"Maybe you'd better not tell me Nev." Ron said, "A year ago … a month ago … even a few weeks ago I would have killed you for what I think you two did, and I can believe that she wanted more. I think I can live with it now, I just don't want to know the details. Harry, you and Hermione both appeared normal at first glance, but I can tell you look like the cat that swallowed the canary. Any details you care to share?"

"Let's just say that I too wish that you'd found Luna a few years ago … enough said." Responded Harry.

Ron said, "At least we've got it right this time … I'll be back in a few." And he left towards the boys stairs.

Neville and Harry made some speculation about what may have been if Voldemort had chosen differently and soon the girls were back.

The girl's talk

Both Luna and Hermione wanted to know what torture Ginny had put Neville through. They wouldn't give up until Ginny explained everything that happened. They had gone at it all night, about five times, resting in between just enough to go at it again with renewed vigour. "After the first time, he thought he'd hurt me when he saw the blood." Said Ginny, "I had to explain it to him, he was ready to go and find Madam Pomfrey." Ginny giggled before continuing. "I am sore in places I didn't know it could hurt like that." She said with a grimace. "I must be walking funny too."

Luna shook her head, she had known Ginny for years, even before Hogwarts, Luna knew what Ginny could be capable of with her red headed determination. Hermione on the other hand, though she thought she knew Ginny, would never have believed her to have that much … was 'determination' the right word … perhaps aggressiveness.

Now it was Ginny's turn, "What kind of hold do you have on my brother." She asked Luna. "I've never known him to be so polite and thoughtful, how did you do it. Mother will want to know too, not that I'm going to tell her."

"Ron's attitude has changed towards me in the last few months though we didn't really start talking until the train ride home. We've owled and met a few times since then. I've known for years that we'd get together, it was only a matter of timing. I laid out the rules when we started, if he's good and polite he gets a treat. Once I showed him how to go about it, he became really attentive, I think I've got the best of 'the treat'." Ginny and Hermione couldn't stop laughing.

Now it was the two younger girls wanting to know what had transpired between her and Harry since the end of Hogwarts.

"It seems that we had been thinking about each other since before the Yule Ball in fourth year. We were each more than sure the other wasn't interested and we didn't want to skew the friendship by taking the chance of exposing our feelings to the other. There were several things that happened during and since our talk in McGonagall's office when you guys left on the train. It finally came to a head on Tuesday last, he admitted he loved me, I would have jumped him on the spot if we weren't outdoors in a park." The other girls giggled. "We've been in the same bed three times now … but only for cuddling and sleeping." Hermione told them.

"In the same bed three times and no sex?" Ginny exclaimed. "You've got more control than me girl … don't know how you do it."

"Gin … I told you before … he's too powerful, the potion doesn't work, Rowena gave me a different potion recipe out of a notebook from Salazar Slytherin. I am going to run it past Madam Pomfrey today for her opinion."

"The puzzle pieces are falling together." Said Luna, "That'll be the right potion, curious option to have the guy take the potion."

Ginny looked at Luna in shock and Hermione looked at her in curiosity. Ginny proclaimed, "I wouldn't trust a guy to take the potion, it's not his risk!"

"If he truly loves you, it's not just your risk either." Replied Hermione.

"You must have done more than that by now?" Asked Ginny.

"We showered together this morning … it was intense … very intense." She sighed as she remembered the feelings that his hands created inside her. "Harry had to help me out of the shower … I could barely stand … I fell when I tried to walk. He caught me and carried me to bed … we both rested for a while before coming here.

Ginny's eyes were wide open at this pronouncement as was her mouth, Luna merely smiled at Hermione.

"We had better get back to the boys, they'll wonder what we are doing." Said Luna.

Hermione did a quick pregnancy test on Ginny and Luna to ease her mind before they returned to the boys.

When the girls returned Harry said, "Professor McGonagall will be busy for another hour, then we'll meet here and go through some more memories. If someone wants to check out Rowena's library for a safe method of destroying Horcruxes, that would be appreciated. Ginny, maybe you should put Neville to bed and let him sleep this time." Ginny blushed and agreed while Neville was pretending to cower in fear. "Hermione, you need to get a note off to your parents about Sunday."

After Ginny and Neville left, Luna volunteered to look for more information about Horcruxes and dragged Ron along with her.

"You certainly know how to clear a room." Said Hermione. "Why don't I see if my White Phoenix can apparate home, then I can just tell them."

"Brilliant thinking, but are you sure you can apparate as a Phoenix … I'll call Fawkes … he should meet you anyway … I mean as a Phoenix." Said Harry and Fawkes immediately appeared, landing on Harry's shoulder.

Hermione sat in an arm chair and successfully did her first complete transformation into a White Phoenix. Fawkes watched her transform, then flew to the arm chair, perching on an armrest. The two birds were starring at each other as if legilimizing. After a few minutes of their staring at each other Harry started to get concerned. He searched his mind and he found her and her feelings … they were constantly changing between curiosity, amazement and contentment, he assumed she was getting the answers she wanted.

Fawkes flew from chair to chair to chair and back to her. In reality it was more of a flap of his wings and a jump than actually flying. Hermione followed him, and after a few missteps she could copy what Fawkes was doing.

After about half an hour Hermione was able to take off, fly around the room and make a landing that Fawkes found acceptable. Fawkes and Hermione then started apparating from chair to chair. Soon they were apparating around the room so fast that all Harry could see were flashes of red and white flame that seemed to be all around him. They stopped for a moment, stared at each other, then Hermione looked at Harry, sending him an image, an aerial view of the outside of the castle, and they were gone.

About ten minutes later Harry was starting to get concerned and curious how Hermione was doing with Fawkes, perhaps jealous was an appropriate word. There was a white flash, Hermione landed gently on his shoulder and nibbled at his ear like she had seen Hedwig do so many times. Hermione then apparated to the sofa and transformed back to herself. Harry rushed over and sat beside her, wrapping his arms around her and they hugged, all of Harry's concerns vaporized in a moment. It was then that he saw something in her hand and wondered what she had brought back.


	21. Chapter 21 More Memories

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the first 6 books in the Harry Potter series by J K Rowling belong to the aforementioned J K Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

**(21) More Memories**

"I'll be right back Harry, I'm going to take these bracelets to Mum and Dad for tomorrow … do you want to come with me?" She said, giving him a quick kiss. Before he could respond she said, "I think I'm starting to like flying, but I'm still not thrilled with flying on a broomstick. It's a whole different perspective to be able to fly as a bird.

They stood and Harry said, not looking her in the face, "I was wondering if you liked Fawkes a bit too much when you were gone so long."

She looked at him and could feel a little jealousy coming from him. She looked straight at him, smiled, kissed him gently and hugged him tightly, saying, "It's you I love … now and always."

Harry relaxed in her hug and shifted closer, returning the hug while drawing her tight to himself. Hermione could sense he needed some more reassurance, she gave him a tight squeeze and whispered, "I love you Harry Potter, and only you," into his ear, before releasing the hug.

Harry released her and when they parted Harry said in a quiet voice, "I guess I'm being silly … I love you too … maybe a little too much. If you're confident in your new found abilities then go to your parents and confirm them for tomorrow. I'll meet you in the Hospital wing with Madam Pomfrey … we'll show her the potion and find out what she thinks. Have a safe trip."

"Thanks Harry, I'll meet you there in a few minutes … bye love." She said then she gave him a peck on his cheek, changed back to her Phoenix form and apparated home.

She arrived in her bedroom with a flash of white light and a faint pop, appearing over top of her bed in case she needed a soft landing spot. Hermione had assumed that her bedroom would be empty, however, Emma had picked today to change the bed coverings and was doing so in Hermione's room when she appeared as a white Phoenix. Both were surprised causing Emma to jump back while Hermione almost fell out of the air before she got her wings going. She flew around the room once and landed on a chair before transforming back to herself. "I'm sorry Mum, I didn't think anyone would be in here." She said in an apologetic tone of voice.

"You … you … were a bird … a moment ago?" Emma said questioningly.

"Oh … yes, a bit of a long story for right now. I found out how to do that yesterday, I can turn into a Phoenix … interesting bird really." She said.

"Phoenix … a Phoenix as in 'risen from the ashes' Phoenix … the mythological bird?" Questioned Emma.

"Yes Mum, I'll explain it tomorrow." She said as she held out two bracelets to her Mum. "Wear these tomorrow when I pick you up and you'll be able to visit Hogwarts without any problems. Is ten o'clock a good time for me to come?"

"Yes … sure." Emma said, still in a bit of a daze. She'd remember later that they needed to be ready for ten.

"Love you Mum … say hi to Dad, I want to get something from Harry's room and then I have to go … bye, see you tomorrow." Hermione escaped to Harry's room and did a quick but thorough search for The Marauders Map and couldn't find it. "Must be at Privet Drive … oh well." Then she transformed into her Phoenix form and apparated back to Hogwarts, appearing in the hallway just outside the Hospital Wing where she flew around for a few moments with a twelve foot long flying snake before landing beside it as it turned back into Harry. Hermione changed back to herself and said, "All we need now is a Griffin and an Eagle Owl lined up beside us and we'll be a flying zoo."

"How did it go with your parents?" Harry asked as they walked into the Hospital Wing.

"I shocked Mum senseless … she was in my bedroom when I popped in. I didn't really explain too much … Sunday at ten is good and I gave her the two bracelets. I took a quick look in your room for The Marauders Map and couldn't find it."

"It's in my trunk at The Dursleys."

Poppy's alarm chime went off as they came through the Hospital Wing doors; she came out of her office and asked, "What have you gotten yourselves into this time?"

Hermione answered, "We've come up with a different potion that we'd like your opinion of." Harry pulled out Salazar's Potions Notebook and it opened to the page they wanted. Poppy motioned them to follow her into her office where they all sat down.

Poppy looked at the potion recipe and instructions, and then looked up at Harry, before moving her gaze to Hermione, and back at the book. She flipped the book over looking at the cover first then the first inside page before saying, "Did you get this book from Rowena Ravenclaw and is it really Slytherin's old notebook?"

"Yes and yes." Said Harry. "Does it make sense … Rowena said we could trust it?"

"It makes sense and it should be the perfect answer for you two … my question is, Hermione, do you trust Harry to take it regularly and on time?" Asked Poppy.

"Absolutely." Responded Hermione.

"Alright." Madam Pomfrey sighed, "Personally, I wouldn't trust any boy that far, probably why this potion's been lost for so long."

"In open air it'll last about a month, in a full bottle with no air space it will keep for years. It's a bit tricky to make, but the ingredients are normal enough … I'll ask Professor Slughorn to make a years worth for you … he may need some more bottles; I'll let you know if he does. I would suggest that you help him with the bottling, but there's no need for him to know who it's for. You might, if you're going to be around here, volunteer to help him in a more general sense as he's making my potion stock for next year in his spare time. I'm sure he'd be very happy for some company, even part time, I expect it gets a little lonely down there for him."

Madam Pomfrey scanned the whole book quickly and copied the pages that were needed before giving it back to Harry. "If Horace sees that book he'll want to keep it and try all the potions." She said. "It might make a good bargaining chip later if you want another batch of potion."

They thanked Madam Pomfrey for her assistance and assured her that one or both of them would offer to help Professor Slughorn over the summer.

Once out of the Hospital Wing and into a hallway they decided it was almost Lunch time, they agreed to fly to a corridor near The Great Hall and appear from there. About half way there they met up with the others. Luna was herself as her Centaur form had trouble with the stairs while Ron was running around and barking at Ginny and Neville who were flying around above them. When Harry and Hermione joined the mix, Ron went even crazier and almost tripped Luna. As they neared the main floor they came across Madam Pince and Mr. Filch walking together. Irma recognized the menagerie and kept Argus from saying or doing anything about them as they disappeared around a corner. Luna had continued directly towards The Great Hall. From around the corner that the menagerie disappeared into, came the other five teens. Joining Luna they marched into The Great Hall for lunch.

Sometime after Hermione left home:

Emma was carrying a basket of clothes and bed linens downstairs, her mind, uncharacteristically, hundreds of miles away with the image of her daughter morphing from a Phoenix that almost soundlessly popped into existence in front of her.

Dan watched her come down the stairs and could tell her mind was elsewhere, she was weaving across the wide staircase as she descended and the weave was in the wrong direction considering where she should be taking the laundry. As he approached her he could see her eyes were glazed over. He let her get to the bottom before taking her hands and the basket, bringing her to a sloppy halt that brought her back to reality. Dan took the basket from her and led her to the sofa before trying to find out what was on her mind. He saw the two bracelets that were still in her hand and asked about them first.

It took a while, but Dan finally got the bulk of the story out of Emma. She wasn't trying to hold back, she simply hadn't finished processing everything herself.

"We'll definitely have some questions to ask her tomorrow." Said Dan as he got up and took the laundry away.

After lunch Minerva joined the teens in The Gryffindor Common Room to review more memories, the first one Harry had planned was to be The Chamber of Secrets. He took Ginny aside at the start, not so much to ask her permission, though that was part of it, but to ask if she wanted to see it or not.

"Sure," Ginny said, "I don't remember any of it other than the part after I woke up. It isn't embarrassing is it?" she asked.

"No … mostly you're lying on the floor of the Chamber until I destroy the diary, killing Tom and then you wake up. No white horse and no Knight in shining armour, just a red Phoenix, Godric's sword and a basilisk tooth.

"What do you mean 'no Knight in shining armour'," Ginny snickered, "Yeah, let's do it Harry, but keep it short okay." She said as they made their way to their seats.

"The first thing I'm going to show you is my memory of The Chamber of Secrets. Ginny and Ron were there for some of it and everyone here has heard the story, but I think seeing it is important to gain an understanding of Tom Riddle, here goes." Said Harry as he pulled out his wand and placed its tip at his right temple drawing out the silver strand of memory and stirring it into the Pensieve. It will start from Moaning Myrtle's bathroom and end just before Fawkes takes us out of the Chamber.

When they fell into the Pensieve the memory started, even though Harry stated that it would start in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom all but Ron and himself were a little surprised to find themselves in there. They saw Myrtle explain how she died, Harry finding the tap and opening the chamber and finally they all slid down the pipe with the original Harry, Ron and Lockhart, to the chamber entrance. Harry made sure everyone stayed up front with him when they saw Lockhart obliviate himself with Ron's broken wand and cause the cave in. They followed Harry and young Harry into the chamber, Ginny and Minerva gasped when they found young Ginny, lying on the stone floor as if dead. Then Tom showed up and called the basilisk, and Fawkes came with the sorting hat that produced Godric's sword. The chase and fight with the basilisk caused some gasps and whimpers. Finally, Ginny waking up after Harry pierced the diary with the basilisk fang, killing the image of Tom, and then their escape from the chamber back to Ron.

Once they were all out of the Pensieve, everyone including Ron congratulated Harry for killing the basilisk and the diary that was a horcrux. Harry blushed at the praise and tried to explain that was not the purpose in showing that memory. Primarily and unknowingly it was the start of destroying Voldemort's horcruxes and the proof that once you get past the protections Voldemort put in place, they could be destroyed safely. Secondly, it brought up the question: why was Albus hurt destroying Marvolo's ring and Harry unharmed destroying the diary?

Harry removed the memory from the Pensieve and placed it in a new vial that Hermione gave him, then said I have another memory from the same diary. Tom was trying to trick me into believing that Hagrid was responsible for Myrtle's death and the opening of The Chamber of Secrets. Harry used his wand and picked another memory out of his temple to put into the Pensieve. He stirred it around while saying, "This one is short, maybe twenty minutes."

They saw Myrtle's body being carried away and Tom and Albus discussing that Headmaster Dippet may have to close the school if the killer was not found. In the next scene they found themselves following Tom into the dungeons and confronting Hagrid, then trying to kill Aragog as Aragog scampered away to safety. Harry noticed Ron cringe and dodge out of the way when Aragog ran past them.

Moments later they popped out of that memory and Harry said, "Tom is the reason why Hagrid was expelled after his third year. It wasn't Hagrid's spider that killed Myrtle fifty plus years ago, it was Tom's basilisk. Ron and I met Aragog shortly after Hagrid was taken away to Azkaban by Minister Fudge. Aragog refused to name the creature that killed Myrtle just as most wizards refuse to call Voldemort by name. Shortly after Hermione figured out that the creature was a basilisk, Ginny was taken into the Chamber of Secrets."

"If the order of these memories seems a bit odd to you, please bear with me. I was originally going to show them in chronological order, from oldest to newest, but I thought there were some memories you needed to see before others and I've changed my mind several times since on the order I wanted to present them. Hermione handed Harry an empty vial to store the last memory when Harry said, "The next memory is a short one that shows Merope trying to get some money by selling Slytherin's locket to Caractacus Burke of Borgin and Burkes. Again we will have to fall into the Pensieve to watch the action.

They followed Harry into the Pensieve to watch the scene play out between Mr. Burke and Merope. At the end they emerged back into the Common Room and a short discussion ensued where Harry reiterated Albus' statement that Mr. Burke was not known for his generosity.

With Hermione's assistance, Harry again swapped memories in the Pensieve so they could see the eleven year old Tom Riddle. Harry explained how Tom was born and that Merope died shortly after naming him. "This is Albus' memory of his visit to Tom at the Orphanage where he explained about Hogwarts and magic." Harry said as he stirred it into the pensieve with his wand tip. "This memory will be a longer one, well over an hour I think."

The same as before, it started out with Albus arrival at the orphanage, locating and talking with the Matron, their discussion of Tom's oddities and his need to return each summer and ending in Tom's room with his Hogwarts letter, a small bag of money and directions to Diagon Alley. Once they all returned to the Common Room there was a long discussion about many aspects of the memory including the hanging rabbit and the two children in the cave as well Harry brought up Tom's collection of stolen 'trophies' that Albus had chastised him for. They discussed how the arrogance, independence and brutality of Voldemort was already showing in Tom Riddle.

"The next one is short, it's the first and as far as I know the only meeting between Tom and his uncle Morfin."

Harry went into his prologue, "Once Tom stopped looking for a father named Riddle in the magical world and looked up his mother it probably didn't take too long with his Slytherin connections to find Morfin. Marvolo and Merope were long dead by this time and he wanted revenge against his muggle father. This memory is from Morfin so all we're really going to see is his first meeting with Tom. Albus believed that Tom overpowered Morfin, took his wand, killed his father and grandparents, returned the wand and took Marvolo's ring from Morfin." As he stirred in the memory he said, "This will be a short trip … about ten minutes." They all followed him into the Pensieve.

After they came out of the Pensieve Harry said, "Morfin was later accused of and confessed to killing the Riddles, Tom apparently modified Morfin's memory and Morfin's wand was proven to be the murder weapon having fired the unforgivable curses.

"It's almost suppertime and there are three more memories to show you, the last one is quite long as it's the night Albus was killed by Snape. If you can all handle them tonight, then tomorrow is available for other things."

They all responded with a yes and Harry said, "I know it's pushing a lot of information on you today and I don't expect you to remember all the details. The point is to give you an understanding of Tom Riddle and the way he thinks … his motivation … if we can anticipate his actions and reactions then we might get ahead of him and have a chance to stop him. Any of you can look at these memories again any time you want."

"Hermione's parents are going to be here tomorrow around ten o'clock and one or both of us are going to be occupied showing them around. She and I haven't been totally open with her parents about all the things that have happened over the last six years and we don't want to frighten them tomorrow. Seeing the castle, the ghosts, Hagrid and some of the other things around here will probably be enough for them to handle without them finding out about Voldemort, Death Eaters, basilisks and the like. You will likely meet them unless you want to go home early. If they ask what we're doing here, just say we're doing a joint summer project for Defence Against the Dark Arts for extra credit. I'm sure everyone can say that with a straight face, it is essentially the truth." Said Harry.

"There will definitely be extra credit if you are even half way successful. I don't know how Albus could have left so much for you to handle." Said McGonagall in a huff and shaking her head."

"Have Mom and Remus found anything at Grimmauld Place?" Asked Ron.

"I haven't heard back from them, but they may not have arrived at number 12 yet." Replied McGonagall.

"I hope that wasn't part of the loot that Mundungus stole." Said Hermione.

"No … I'm sure it's in the house." Said Luna with conviction. Ron and Minerva looked at her quizzically, prompting her to continue. "I saw a gold locket that had a silver chain, in a vision a few weeks ago. Mrs. Weasley and Professor Lupin were giving it to you, Professor McGonagall. I had no idea the significance of the locket at the time.

Harry pulled the last memory out of the Pensieve to put it in a vial as the others were getting up to leave for the Great Hall. Once they had all left and the memories were put away, he and Hermione also left for supper.

After supper they all convened in the Gryffindor Common Room again to see the last three memories that Harry planned to show them. The unaltered memory of Slughorn talking to Tom about Horcruxes and how powerful the number seven is. Then Hepzibah Smith and Tom with Slytherin's Locket and Hufflepuff's cup, and he told them that a day later Hepzibah died and Hokey, her house Elf was blamed for poisoning her accidentally. Harry now asked Professor McGonagall a question. "Professor, if, in my memory Albus and I apparate somewhere, does everyone viewing the memory get dragged along?"

"That can get tricky, if it was Albus' memory, he would know how to get around that. I suggest you split the memory into pieces so that we exit when you two apparate and we can enter the next segment after the apparition." Suggested Minerva.

Harry pulled the entire memory out of his head and put it into a vial for Hermione to put away, then he pulled out one segment at a time and they entered the Pensieve each time. First was the agreement in Dumbledore's office, there was no point wasting everyone's time with the walk to Hogsmeade. The next segment was at the cliff side and they watched Harry and Albus swim to the cave. The following segment started in the cave with Albus finding the entrance arch. They walked along the side of the cavern until they found the boat. They watched the little boat start across and in the next segment they were on the small island. At last they exited the cave and apparated to Hogsmeade. In the final segment they flew on Madam Rosemertas' brooms to the Astronomy Tower where Draco disarmed Albus and Snape killed him.

Following the memories, Harry suggested that if they were going to be around for a while tomorrow, They might have some fun looking up old curses and hexes in Rowena's library. Luna said that she had found some information on Horcruxes, but not what Harry had asked for, so she was going to continue looking.

"Whatever you can find Luna, would be more than we know now, bookmark it and bring it back or copy it so we can take it away, then all of us can read it. We can't take Rowena's books beyond the castle walls or they will disappear. When you want to leave tomorrow, let me or Harry know and Fawkes or I can apparate you wherever you want to go." Said Hermione. Do you want to meet here for breakfast around nine?"

They soon left in pairs; Ginny had to help poor Neville as he wasn't interested in moving. She, however, got him motivated and they left too. Hermione reminded Harry that he promised to tell his Aunt and Uncle on Sunday, what time they expected to arrive on Monday. Harry took the Pensieve and Hermione took the memories and they went back to the Heads Common Room, a very short walk, thankfully. After carefully storing the Pensieve and the memories they flopped on the sofa and Harry lit the fireplace while Hermione snuggled into him. In a few minutes they were warm and comfy and soon they drifted off to sleep in each others arms.

Sometime around midnight Harry woke and tried to massage a kink out of his neck. A groggy Hermione asked what he was doing, then took over the neck massage. They finally ended up in Harry's room and after doffing most of their clothes except boxers and knickers, they ended up snuggled together in his bed. Harry thought to himself as he fell asleep, _twenty-four hours ago this wouldn't have happened as naturally as it just did. He couldn't believe that they had in reality always been together, but not recognized it for the love it really was. They had ignored or confused the love for a simple friendship and it had snuck up on them since that first train ride so many years ago._


	22. Chapter 22 The Tour

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the first 6 books in the Harry Potter series by J K Rowling belong to the aforementioned J K Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

**(22) The Tour**

They were sleeping until Dobby woke them up in time to get ready for breakfast with the others. They showered together again, but didn't have the luxury of time to get carried away as they did the previous morning. Even then they were the last pair to arrive at The Gryffindor Common Room. When Dobby saw them arrive he snapped his fingers and breakfast appeared. During breakfast they suffered some chiding about sleeping in and endured it in good fun. Neville was looking much improved this morning even though he and Ginny still had silly grins on their faces. Ron had noticed them too and decided he should mind his manners, keep Luna happy and not feel so protective about Ginny. After all, Neville was a good guy, and so long as no one was getting hurt, he should be happy for them.

Once breakfast was over Harry said, "I think we got a lot accomplished in the last two days, I expected we'd only be half way through by now. The next time we meet, we should have a horcrux to destroy and I'd like us to tackle Legilimency and Occlumency if no one has any objections." He waited a few moments and no one spoke, so he carried on, "Hermione and I have learned some Legilimency, however, we've had no luck with Occlumency. We seem to have an open link with each others feelings, and there was a passage in the book that we read to indicate the link will not allow us to close our minds to each other, so we need you to practice with.

Everyone agreed with the plan and Ginny asked when the next meeting would be.

"Hermione wants to spend some time with her parents this summer, as I'm sure, do most of you. I suggest we leave weekends as family time and for the next few weeks I'm stuck at Privet Drive part of Mondays and Tuesdays. We can't use magic there at all, but if we needed to meet for some other reason, we could. That leaves Tuesday afternoons to Friday available to come out here and practice magic together, research and try to figure out where the last of the horcruxes are. If we meet at The Burrow on Wednesday Mornings, was ten o'clock too early … is eleven better?"

They all agreed to eleven at The Burrow on Wednesday and Harry reminded them that they still needed to get or find the locket, the cup, Nagini, Tom's snake, and find something of Gryffindor's or Ravenclaw's.

"Hermione is going to get her parents and I'm going home for a few minutes. We should be back around ten or shortly after." Said Harry. "We can always contact each other with the rings and don't forget that Professor McGonagall has a ring too, so keep the love notes to a minimum. Luna, can I steal Ron for a little while … we'll be back soon?"

"Sure … I'm going to the Library." Said Luna.

"Neville and I will come with you." Said Ginny. And the three left together.

"What did you have in mind Harry?"

"I thought you might want to get out of here for a little while Ron." Replied Harry. "Do you want me to bring back the Map dear?" He asked Hermione.

"That might be useful, I'd like to find out if it shows anything behind Rowena's portrait. We have a little time before I said I'd pick up my parents, I can drop you off if you like."

"Ron this'll be the first time she's apparated anyone else with her as a Phoenix, I'll go … do you want to come along?"

"If anyone can do it, she can." Said Ron. "Let's go."

Hermione's confidence flared as she transformed and landed on Ron's shoulder, then Harry took Ron's hand and in a flash of white flame they were gone. Hermione landed them in the back yard of number four Privet Drive, and after the boys checked themselves over they congratulated Hermione on a perfect multiple apparition. She shuffled over to Harry's shoulder and they went inside to the kitchen to talk to his aunt.

After the initial greetings and properly introducing Ron, Harry told his aunt that he and Hermione would be back on Monday before noon and would probably be leaving again on Tuesday afternoon. They headed upstairs to the room Hermione was using, Harry unlocked the door and the three of them went in. Hermione jumped and flew off Harry's shoulder, onto a chair and changed back to herself. Harry searched through his trunk and found The Marauders Map in one end about half way down. He pocketed it and closed the trunk after throwing everything back in that he had tossed on the floor. Hermione scolded him for not putting his things away neatly and he promised to do it tomorrow as they were pushed for time, they were supposed to be at her parents soon. They came downstairs, and through the living room where Uncle Vernon and Dudley were watching wrestling on the tele. Vernon looked at them curiously, but didn't say a word. He was sure that only two boys went upstairs and now she was with them, his girlfriend, the tramp. Hermione made eye contact with Vernon and Vernon immediately turned to face the tele and pretended to watch the show while the trio made their way into the kitchen. Now it was Petunia's turn to be surprised, but she remembered the cat lady from earlier in the week and asked Hermione, "Were you that lovely white bird earlier?"

Hermione answered, "Yes." Then said. "Ron and Harry can now change into animals as well, we learned over the last few days. Ron is a cute little terrier and Harry is a rather large snake, would you like to see?"

"I'm not sure if I want to see a large snake, but sure … go ahead as long as it doesn't make enough noise to bring Vernon in here." She said quietly.

"No barking Ron." Said Hermione. As they both changed into their animal forms. Harry moved to the side feeling more concealed from people entering the kitchen. At that moment Dudley came into the kitchen looking for more snacks. Hermione tried to motion for Dudley to stay clear of Ron, but he wanted to pick up the little dog. Harry slipped out from around the corner, Dudley still hadn't seen him. When Dudley leaned his great bulk over to reach for the dog, Harry put his snake face in front of Dudley's face and stuck out his tongue. Dudley jumped back about four feet and promptly fell over backwards. Petunia rushed over to him as Harry and Ron changed back to themselves. Hermione said, "We're sorry Mrs. Dursley, we'd better go quickly." Hermione surreptitiously obliviated the last minute of Dudley's memory before she changed back to a Phoenix and flew up to Harry's shoulder. Dudley, in a very confused state of mind, finally got up. Before Dudley turned to look, Hermione apparated the boys to her parents home, this time arriving in the back yard.

After she changed back to herself, she led the boys in through the back door and found Emma and Dan in the living room. After introducing Ron, she asked her parents if there was anything they wanted to bring with them. When they were ready she had them hold hands in a circle as she changed and flew up onto Harry's shoulder. In a large white flash, they were at the gates of Hogwarts. Hermione brought them just outside the gates to make sure they could see the castle and so they could have a view of the grounds and castle from the outside. When they were approaching the main doors the trio's rings warmed indicating a message. They watched their rings and found a message from McGonagall saying she had the golden locket.

"Yes!" screamed Harry. Dan and Emma watched the three teens looking at each other with grins on their faces. Harry pulled out his map and opened it up as they entered the castle and said' "I solemnly swear I'm up to no good." The parents watched in amazement as the map began to fill in. Molly and Remus were with McGonagall in her office. Neville, Luna and Ginny suddenly appeared in the Restricted Section and ran through Library.

Ron knew Harry and Hermione wanted to go, but her parents knew nothing about the horcruxes, after a moments hesitation he said, "Hermione, you and Harry need to see the Headmistress right now, I'll show your parents around this area then we'll go to the dungeons if you haven't returned."

They looked at her parents for a moment until Dan and Emma nodded okay. They left Ron to show her parents around. Hermione thanked Ron and Harry nodded to him as they ran off.

Ron, Dan and Emma walked around the Entrance Hall, saw the hour glasses that kept track of the house points, watched a staircase change, toured the Great Hall and some of its adjoining rooms. Dan asked Ron if he or Harry could change into an animal, Ron said they could and that Harry was a big snake and that they shouldn't say too much about it to anyone else before he transformed into a Jack Russell Terrier with a slightly red tinge to the fur on top of his head. He then led them out of the Great Hall and into Firenze's classroom that was nearby before changing back to himself. Ron introduced Dan and Emma to Firenze and they talked for a while. The conversation grew a little one sided fairly quickly as Firenze didn't want to talk much about anything closer to home than Mars or Jupiter, but he was pleasant and the Grangers had never seen a Centaur before so it was all new to them. When they returned to the Entrance Hall they saw two ghosts chasing Peeves through it before Peeves changed direction and went straight up through the ceiling.

Ron said, "I was expecting that Hermione would be back by now, or Harry … let's head down to the dungeons. We can see the potions classroom and the dungeon where Nearly Headless Nick celebrated his 500th Death Day Party." Following that statement Ron had to explain that a Death Day Party was like a Birthday Party except celebrating the day you died. "If we're really unlucky we'll run into Mr. Filch the caretaker." He said.

Harry and Hermione raced to the Headmistress office getting there slightly ahead of the three from the Library. Harry spoke the password and the gargoyles opened revealing the spiral staircase. They jumped on just as it started to rise and were at McGonagall's open office door in seconds. When they went inside they found Molly and Remus talking to Minerva and seconds later Mad-Eye Moody and Arthur came through the Floo. Nobody except Minerva and the six teens knew exactly what the locket was, not even Molly and Remus, though Remus could sense it contained dark magic. Molly had floo called Arthur from Grimmauld Place when she and Remus had found the locket and told him they were going to Hogwarts to give it to McGonagall. Moody had been in Arthur's office at the time. When Moody's glass eye found the locket it fixed on it and followed it from hand to hand as it was passed along and examined.

Hermione could see Moody's expression as soon as he recognized the dark magic and knew Harry would need some authority. She slipped out of sight, changed into her White Phoenix and waited for the right moment. Surprisingly Moody's attention and that of his eye were solely on the locket and hadn't spotted Hermione hiding behind a bookcase. The locket finally made its way to Alastor and he examined it closely declaring it to posses some incredibly dark magic that he didn't immediately recognize. When Minerva asked for it back Alastor suggested that he should keep it as he felt he had the best chance of discovering what magic it possessed.

Not willing to wait for arguments and counter arguments to drag on Hermione apparated her White Phoenix form from behind the bookcase, into the middle of the room near the ceiling in a bright white flash. The 'flash in' in the middle of the room masked the 'flash out' from behind the bookcase and as both were nearly silent, no one realized from where the White Phoenix had come. Hermione flew down and scooped the locket from Mad-Eye's hand, then landed on Harry's shoulder and placed it in his waiting hand before glaring back at Moody. Harry had noticed that Alastor had started drawing his wand when he saw the flash of white light. Harry's immediate reaction was to protect Hermione and while reaching his hand out he did a wandless disarming spell followed by a summoning charm and had Moody's wand in his outstretched hand almost before Hermione had the locket in her beak. By the time Hermione landed on Harry's shoulder everyone was looking at Harry, amazed that he could disarm Alastor Moody so easily. Truth be told, Harry felt that a certain amount of it was luck and surprise. Harry had noticed that Hermione slipped away and half expected her White Phoenix form to appear. Everyone eventually settled down from both the snatching of the locket and the appearance of the White Phoenix. Until now only the teens, Minerva, Argus and Irma were aware of a new Phoenix, but Minerva had told the senior Order members at their last meeting a few days ago that a White Phoenix, when it appeared, would be or select their new leader. The white Phoenix jumped off Harry's shoulder and returned to being Hermione as her feet touched the floor.

"Wandless … impressive." Said Alastor as Harry levitated the wand back to him. "Do I understand that you two are now in charge of the Order?"

"Well … I think that was what Albus' idea was although he suggested that someone else should take charge of the day to day operation because he gave me … us … a project to complete before Voldemort can finally be defeated." Said Harry.

"It's really Harry's choice," Said Hermione, "but, who here would be willing to take over the day to day operations?"

Molly, Alastor, Remus, Arthur and Minerva looked at each other for a moment before looking back at Harry and Hermione. All five at once started to speak, then realizing they were all speaking, they stopped. Minerva held up her hand, "My office," she said. "First, since it seems we are all going to be working together, I suggest we all use first names until school is in session then we revert back to normal when other students are present." She paused for a second and there was no challenge to the suggestion. Then she continued, "Second, I will be in need of a 'Defence Against the Dark Arts' teacher as well as a full or part time Transfiguration teacher. Do I hear any volunteers?"

There were some low voices between the adults as a group and some quiet discussion amongst the teens. Harry and Hermione put their hands up as Remus cleared his throat and Alastor thumped his wooden leg for attention.

Silence reigned before Minerva spoke. "Molly … you were very good at Transfiguration and Charms if I remember correctly. Would you be interested in teaching Transfiguration to first through fourth year students while I keep the fifth through seventh years? "

Molly had a look of shock on her face as did Ginny, whose jaw dropped open. "Minerva, you can't be serious, it's been so long since I've done any of that?"

"Take a look at the first through fourth year books. For the most part it's frustrating watching them try, and then satisfying when they succeed. You can floo here in the morning for classes and Arthur can join us for meals and then return home after. You and Arthur discuss it and let me know."

"Arthur, I know I have no say in it, but I'd just as soon you stayed with the Ministry. Alastor, Remus, are either of you interested in teaching Defence … I hesitate to use the word 'again' in your case Alastor." Asked Minerva.

"Professor." Interrupted Harry. "Tom cursed that position so that no 'one person' could keep it for a whole year. Is there some way we can keep the course, but change it to get past the curse?

"Perhaps if we split it into two parts," Said Hermione, "Theoretical Defence and Practical Defence, leave out the words 'Dark Arts', then have two or more teachers?"

"Who said there was a curse?" Asked Moody and Remus together.

"Albus mentioned a curse on the DADA teaching position, but I thought he was just saying that because we can't seem to keep teachers." Replied Minerva.

Harry said, "Albus showed me his memory of his conversation with Tom Riddle, in this very room, about the position of DADA teacher." As he pulled his wand and used it to extract his recollection of Dumbledore's memory and the conversations he and Albus had both before and after viewing the memory. Minerva provided a crystal vial for him to store the silver strand as Harry said, "If there is no longer a Pensieve here, Albus's old one is currently in our Common Room. Perhaps you should view the memory before making a decision. We … that is the six of us, would be willing to help in any way we can, perhaps an official DA study group or a Duelling Club, however, I think, at the moment we should rescue Ron from Hermione's parents."

"Yes, fine, but who's to lead The Order?" Asked Minerva.

"Once you solve your staffing, then let me know which of you is available and any suggestions you may have … we'll make the choice then." Said Hermione as the five students left the office.

Once they were past the Gargoyles and into the hallway Harry pulled out his map and activated it. It took only moments to find Ron, Dan and Emma in the dungeon that was the Potions classroom along with Horace Slughorn.

They found her parents and Ron still in the Potions Classroom, Horace was having a fabulous time explaining one potion after another to the Grangers who were quite interested as most of them were for Madam Pomfrey in the Hospital Wing. The last two cauldrons had the beginnings of Amortentia and Felix Felicis in them. They were no where near done so there wasn't much to see there, but the explanation of them intrigued Dan and Emma immensely.

After introductions and agreeing to meet for lunch in the Great Hall, Ron and Luna left as did Ginny and Neville. Hermione took over as the tour guide while Harry talked to Professor Slughorn about the possibility of helping him tend the potions this summer. Harry also confessed that his better potions grade that year had been the result of the text book he had been loaned at the beginning of last year. He explained that the book had belonged to someone calling himself 'The Half Blood Prince' and Harry finally found out, after Hermione did some extensive research that Snape's mother had been a witch named Eileen Prince who married a muggle named Tobias Snape and thus Severus referred to himself as 'The Half Blood Prince'. He had thus been following Snape's personally modified instructions."

"Regardless of the instructions you were following, your potions turned out well and that's what counts." Slughorn complimented Harry. "I suppose you stopped using that text book near the end of the year that would explain the sudden change in your potion quality. Perhaps I should teach from that book, maybe everyone would have better results."

"There are some spells and hexes in that book that you would not want to share." Said Harry with a grimace. "I cut up Draco quite badly with a nasty spell I found in there." Harry left with a list of dates when Horace thought he could use some extra help for one reason or another and finally caught up with Hermione and her parents on the second floor in McGonagall's Transfiguration Classroom.

Before noon they had met several teachers and staff, at lunch they met most of the rest with the exception of Sibyll Trelawney, the Divination Teacher. Ginny they had seen several years before at Gringotts, but Luna and Neville were new faces. Once they were seated it became obvious to Emma that the other four students were also couples.

Right after lunch Neville and Ginny suggested they should pack up and leave for home, Luna grabbed Ron and concurred with that idea. Hermione volunteered to apparate them all home, but they decided to simply all go to The Burrow. Harry continued the tour, waiting for Hermione to return before venturing into Gryffindor Tower and the Room of Requirement. Following that Hermione took them to the top of the Astronomy Tower before winding up the tour by having tea with Professor Trelawney in the Divination Classroom. Of course Sybil had to predict Harry's death yet again which prompted queasy feelings in both Dan and Emma until they saw Harry's smile. After leaving Sybil, Hermione explained that Professor Trelawney had been predicting Harry's death ever since the first lesson they had six years ago and Harry hadn't died yet.

They finished by touring the castle grounds, Hermione apparated them to several of her favourite spots around the lake and castle, ending at the Quidditch Pitch. Harry opened the Broom Shed and brought out two brooms, handing one to Hermione. Harry asked Dan if he wanted to double up on a broom and have a quick flight around the Quidditch Pitch. Hermione still didn't like brooms so Harry took Dan for a fly around while a certain white Phoenix we all know, had her Mother hold on to her tail feathers while they flew near Harry and Dan.

Hermione was actually enjoying flying, as a Phoenix, she still didn't like brooms. After the flights she took her parents home while Harry went to see Minerva and find out if any decisions had been made. When Hermione returned, she and Harry packed up everything except the pensieve and James Potter's trunk. Harry had said their goodbyes to Minerva, Remus and Alastor. Molly and Arthur had already left, Molly had accepted the teaching position and Remus and Mad-Eye would share the Defence post that they ended up splitting as Hermione suggested. Of course it was all assuming that the Board of Governors would approve. 'Dumbledore's Army' would be a sanctioned group and the name will remain in his honour, with the trio in control, but under the supervision of the two new Defence teachers. Minerva volunteered to oversee the daily operations of The Order of the Phoenix so long as Harry would keep her updated on the teens progress with the horcruxes and anything else they got into. She in turn would keep Harry, Ron and Hermione updated on any of the Orders' activities and plans.

Ron, Luna, Ginny and Neville were sitting in the Weasley kitchen talking about the memories they'd seen when Molly and Arthur floo'd in. Their conversation stopped abruptly and Ginny started the chant, 'Good afternoon Professor Weasley'. The other three picked it up instantly even though the teens didn't know for sure if Mrs. Weasley had accepted the post.

Arthur chuckled and Molly went slightly pink before saying, "I may not be YOUR teacher this coming year, but that doesn't mean I can't give you detentions."

The four teens all laughed, Molly and Arthur joined in the laughing a moment later.


	23. Chapter 23 King Arthur's Vault

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the first 6 books in the Harry Potter series by J K Rowling belong to the aforementioned J K Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

**(23) King Arthur's Vault**

Sun Jul 6

Hermione flashed Harry back to her bedroom in her parent's home and, after dropping their belongings in their rooms they made their way to the kitchen where Emma had tea ready.

That night Hermione cast a locking charm on her bedroom door as well as a silencing charm, then she apparated into Harry's room. He had already locked his door and silenced his room. No one in the rest of the house would be able to hear anything that went on in either bedroom, but they would be able to hear any noise from the hallway. They snuggled into bed together, and were careful to not disrupt the room. Harry had everything he could think of, stuck down or locked anyway.

Monday morning Jul 7

Harry again woke up first in the morning, he attributed it to the fact that he was getting a good night's sleep, pleasant dreams and all. Something he had not been used to for most of the last six years. She was again rolled into his side, her head nestled into his shoulder, their arms wrapped around each other, some of her bushy brown hair draped over his face. He could feel her heart beating a constant rhythm along with the rise and fall of her chest in time to her breathing. He dared not move or he would disrupt the beauty of the moment. How could a man … a boy … how could he wish for anything more perfect, and yet he felt guilty for enjoying not just the moment, but everything. There was no longer anything of substance between them, no sheets, no quilt, no clothes to speak of, just her knickers and his boxers. He was anxiously awaiting Slughorn's completion of his potion and yet dreading it at the same time. In less than a week the potion would be ready and he would start taking it, then, after two more weeks they could safely make love together. It could be another giant leap for both of them that could happen by his birthday. Hope grew and Harry smiled, then further concerns crept into his mind. He felt her move, every bad thought he had slipped away to be replaced by happiness as he watched her begin to wake up in his arms again. When her arm moved under him he realized that, yet again, they were hovering above the bed. Using a finger tip he gently spelled 'I Love You' on her back. She giggled as she realized what he was doing and looked up to find the biggest smile on his face that she could ever remember. She could both feel and hear his heart beating in his chest as well as his warm body against hers … then there was a sound in the hall.

Emma whispered, "This ones locked."

Dan replied, "So is this one … I wonder which room they're really in?"

"Dan!" Emma whisper-shouted. "Leave it be … you've watched the two of them together, they're a natural pair. Besides, you don't know, they could be in their own rooms."

"And they could be invisible and standing behind us right now, what are the odds?"

"You gave them your blessing"

"I know … can't I whine a little bit?" Asked Dan. "I still remember the exuberant, almost twelve year old girl with her new wand and spell books … I will always like that image, don't ask me to give it up, please … not yet."

"Come on." Said Emma, "I'll make us some breakfast."

Harry's smile had gone flat during Dan and Emma's whispered conversation in the hallway. Hermione's smile had also straightened out as she watched him. "Now I feel terrible … your parents have been so nice to me … I feel like I'm stealing something from them. We shouldn't do this any more, at least not in their home … your home."

"Harry, if they were really against us being together, they wouldn't let you stay here, especially given what they know about us and they do know what we're doing, they're not stupid. They're concerned about me, about my happiness and wellbeing. Harry." She said. "If we could somehow capture that image Daddy remembers, into a picture, I'll bet he would be really happy. I know the day he means, we'd just come back from Diagon Alley with all my school stuff, I'd put on my robes, had a spell book in one hand and my wand in the other. I was sitting on the sofa trying some charms out of the book, Mum and Dad came in just as one of them actually worked."

Harry laughed softly, "Only you, Hermione, only you could get something to work right from the book. Colin might know how to make a picture out of a memory, or Flitwick?"

"Rowena, I bet she'd have some spectacular ideas." Said Hermione.

"We can ask her, we'll be back there in a few days."

Errol, the Weasley's owl, swooped in through Harry's window, landing on the bed in a spectacular crash landing near Harry's feet, coming to rest against the footboard of the bed. Hermione looked down as Errol struggled to his feet and walked up Harry's leg. "He's got a letter for you." Said Hermione as she reached down to loosen the leather tie on Errol's leg. The scroll had Harry's name on it. Between Hermione's left hand and Harry's right hand and a little magic, they managed to open the scrolled message. "It's from Mrs. Weasley … I bet she found out about all the gold you transferred to her vault."

The previous afternoon

Arthur had been so confused when the Goblin appeared to have taken him to the wrong vault, yet his key worked and the vault was full of gold, well not full, but there was a lot of gold in it, more than would have fit in his old vault. Arthur had refused to take anything out of the vault until Griphook explained what had transpired and that they had to move him to a larger vault to hold all the gold that Harry had transferred to his family. Mr. Weasley had tried to return all or most of the gold to Harry, but the bank wouldn't allow it. Eventually he made enough fuss that he ended up in Ragnok's office and between Ragnok and Griphook they managed to calm him down and explain what had happened, showed him the balance and transaction sheets and finally settled him down. In the end Mr. Weasley took more gold out than he was planning and filled Molly's shopping list with pockets full of galleons to spare.

When Arthur had arrived home he took Molly aside and questioned her regarding exactly what Harry had said about transferring gold to their vault. Then he told her about the larger vault they now had and showed her the copies of the paperwork he had been given at the bank and the fact that he spoke to Ragnok, the President of Gringotts himself. Then he proceeded to empty his pockets onto his desk, those pockets were deep and there was a significant pile of Galleons that overflowed the corner of his small desk.

Back in Oxford

What the message boiled down to was that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley wanted to have a chat with Harry about his 'gift' and if nothing else, clarify that it was indeed correct before they said anything to the family.

"We'd better stop at The Burrow on our way to Privet Drive." Said Hermione, "And we'd better get a move on, it's probably going to take some time to convince Molly and we still have to get to Surrey before noon. Let's go down and say goodbye to Mum and Dad." She gave him a seductive kiss before jumping out of bed and apparating to her own room. She first messed up her own bed so that it would at least look like it was slept in, then she found a robe.

Harry groaned as he got up and went over to his trunk to find pyjamas and a robe. He met Hermione in the hall a few minutes later and they made their way downstairs.

The four said their good morning greetings then Harry offered to make breakfast. Dan and Emma regretfully declined the offer so Harry started bacon and eggs for two when he found the fridge had been restocked while they were at Hogwarts.

Hermione poured herself a mug of coffee and had a subdued conversation with her parents while Harry cooked. She told them they heard their conversation in the upstairs hall and it made Harry feel so guilty. She told them that they kissed, they hugged, they cuddled, but beyond that all they did was sleep, and they both slept better together than apart. Harry had never asked her to come to bed with him, that was all her choice and she had no intention of changing. She explained to her dad that she too sometimes thought of herself as the excited eleven year old that he remembered and she wanted him to keep thinking of her like that as long as it made him happy. She then told them both, "There are three very important things in my life right now, school, you two and Harry. I don't think I could deal with having to choose between them …"

Emma quietly responded, "You won't need to choose honey …" Emma stopped because Harry turned to bring breakfast to the table. Hermione smiled at her parents as Dan nodded, then turned to find breakfast being slipped in front of her as Dan and Emma got up to leave.

"I heard most of that conversation." He whispered in Hermione's ear, "And I don't want you to have to choose either … even though I'm certain of your selection."

Dan and Emma we about to leave through the front when a crash was heard in the back yard. Hermione told her parents to hide as the two teens ran to the living room where they could see the back yard. Tonks head could be seen as she was extricating herself from the midst of a freshly collapsed garden shed. Hermione returned to the kitchen, while laughing, to calm her parents, leaving Harry to greeted Tonks. Once out from under the rubble, Tonks used her wand to repair the damage, then made her way to the back door of the Granger residence. Harry greeted Tonks and led her into the kitchen where they sat her down. Tonks had met Dan and Emma previously so introductions weren't required. Harry and Hermione continued their breakfast while Harry asked Tonks if she wanted some food.

Tonks said, "Sure." And tried to get up only to find that Harry wasn't taking any chances, she was well stuck to the chair that was also stuck to the floor.

Harry's left hand was slowly feeding a piece of bacon into his mouth while his right hand reached over his shoulder and made a peeling motion towards the stove and frying pan. On the counter beside the stove, five pieces of bacon peeled themselves off the rasher, inch wormed their way across the counter and into the frying pan arranging themselves to form a face. Three to form a circle for the head, the fourth in an "L" shape to be the nose and the fifth was a smile. Dan and Emma, who were standing up, were amazed by the performance and took notice of the happy face, less the eyes, as two eggs lifted out of their open carton beside the bacon to hover over the frying pan. "looking at you or back side up?" Asked Harry as the eggs lowered into the frying pan. Just before they landed, their shells and the membrane vanished allowing the eggs to flow into the frying pan completing the happy face.

Tonks had forgotten she was stuck to the chair as she watched the performance in disbelief, similarly Hermione and her parents were also watching, Dan and Emma had forgotten to leave.

Hermione glanced over at Harry and smiled before commenting, "Show off!"

"Sorry, I was hungry." He said as he finished his breakfast and got up to tend the frying pan.

"How long has he been able to do that?" Tonks asked. "Remus told me he disarmed Mad-Eye in McGonagall's office without a wand. Mad-Eye wouldn't answer my questions, or anyone else's."

"He's been able to do wandless magic from just before we left Hogwarts at the end of school." She replied. "He started out lighting a candle." A candle materialized in mid air between Hermione and Tonks, startling Tonks who was again looking around to see who had their wand out.

Harry brought Tonks breakfast over and said, "You want me to light that?" As he passed his hand over the candle for show, and it was alight as he had witnessed Dumbledore do so many times before.

"Mum, Dad, aren't you supposed to be at your office soon?"

"Oh, Lord, we're going to be late."

"Relax … I'll take you. Follow me into the living room so we don't upset Tonks."

A few seconds later, with a barely audible 'pop' they were gone. Before Hermione left her parents in their office, she borrowed her Dad's cel phone and arranged that they would call her to take them home. She would be in Surrey by then, thus the reason for the cel phone.

Tonks heard the faint 'pop' sound as they departed and questioned Harry. He told Tonks that he was sure the three of them apparated directly to their office and Harry unstuck Tonks so she could look in the living room. "Three people cannot apparate that quietly …" Tonks said with concern in her voice.

"Unless they have a Phoenix." Finished Harry. "Remus must have left out a few details or you were in too big a hurry.

"Who … who has a Phoenix?" Asked Tonks.

"I have access to two Phoenixes." Responded Harry. "Fawkes and a new white Phoenix."

About that time Hermione came down from her bedroom swinging a cel phone by it's strap. "I'll have to pick them up after work and bring them back here, but now we need to get dressed and get going. We have to stop at The Burrow before we get to Privet Drive."

"That reminds me why I came here … how come all that gold is in my vault? I was told it came from you Harry, is that correct? Over a hundred thousand Galleons?"

"Yes it came from me … to be honest; I would have put it in a vault under Remus' name except that he lacks the legal status to own a vault. I assumed that he would likely share it with you, so, for simplicity I had it transferred to your vault."

"Oh!" She said. "I should let Wolfie know"

"Wolfie?" giggled Hermione and Harry snickered too. "And just what does he call you?"

"You're too young to hear it." Said Tonks in a tone that ended that line of questioning.

"Alright … DEER … we've been put in our place." Harry said as he made eye contact with Hermione. Moments later two silver Patroni began to appear between the teens and Tonks.

Tonks had jumped back, unsure of what was forming in front of her. Once she recognized that two similar Patroni were forming she was both happy and in awe of the pair of teens in front of her. She had never seen a corporeal Patronus conjured nonverbally or without a wand. These two were accomplishing some very powerful magic … without wands. Tonks immediately recognized the Stag as Harry's, but the other one didn't resolve into the Otter that she expected, it was becoming something bigger, another Stag … no, it was a Doe. Tonks ran between the deer and engulfed the teens in a big hug, congratulating them for finally getting together.

When Tonks finally released her death grip on them, Hermione said, "We really need to change and leave for The Burrow now." She wiggled out of Tonks' grip and while saying, "Come on Harry … get dressed." Ran up the stairs to her bedroom.

When the pair came downstairs, Hermione transformed into her white Phoenix, flashed herself onto Harry's shoulder, and apparated them to the back yard of The Burrow. Tonks had a hold of Harry and ended up apparating with them.

"Ohhhh," Said Tonks, realizing what just happened as well as her fresh surroundings and never having experienced apparition by Phoenix before. "I could get used to that."

Ron and Ginny came out from the kitchen to greet the arrivals and Ron said, "Mom and Dad are in a right state about something you did Harry …"

"They're not mad at you … precisely … more like they think you've lost your mind." Said Ginny.

"They won't tell us what it's all about either." Said Ron.

"You two are starting to sound like Fred and George." Responded Hermione.

"When you finish each others thoughts." Said Harry.

Tonks immediately broke out in uncontrollable laughter prompting Mrs Weasley to come to the kitchen door and stare curiously at the five of them. At this point the four teens had realized they were all finishing each others sentences and broke out in laughter as well, causing Mrs Weasley to scowl at the lot of them, making them laugh that much harder.

When they had all calmed down enough to be sensible, they started moving towards Molly's kitchen. Once inside they sat around the kitchen table including Molly. Arthur was at work, but would likely be back at noon unless something kept him at the office. Harry and Hermione planned to leave before noon to be at his Aunt and Uncles for lunch so they weren't going to see Arthur.

"Alright." Said Harry, "I guess I'd better get to the point because Hermione and I have to leave before noon. When I found out from Ragnok …"

Most of those present gasped at the realization that Harry actually talked to Ragnok, one of the most influential Goblins in the entire world. Not only was Ragnok the head of Gringotts Bank, he was also the chief of the largest Goblin Clan in the world, thus head of the Council of Goblin Clans. He didn't usually see just anyone, even the Minister of Magic had to make an appointment. Ragnok obviously wasn't too impressed with 'The Ministry of Magic'.

"… that I had a ludicrous amount of gold in my trust vault I decided that I didn't want to take the chance of the Dursleys getting any more of it than could be helped should something happen to me. In the last six years it had gained more in interest than I had spent for school. Mrs Weasley, I transferred a quarter of the contents into your family vault and another quarter into Tonks' vault for her and Remus. You should have seen a little over a hundred thousand Galleons transferred to each of you, is that about right?"

Molly said, "That's what Arthur told me."

"That's what I found too Harry." Said Tonks.

"You can't expect us to accept all that gold Harry, it isn't right, you've got a life to live … you and Hermione." Said Molly. Tonks didn't say anything, she was waiting to see how Molly got along with her argument.

"The Trust Vault only needs to last until the end of this month at which time I get access to the Potter Family Vault, a portion of Dumbledore's Estate and when the Wizengammot is through mucking around with it, the balance of the Black Family Estate that was intended for Narcissa and Bellatrix."

Ron and Ginny were looking at each other with their mouths flapping open while Molly and Tonks were mentally adding up what they estimated that to total.

Harry carried on by saying, "The amount in my trust vault, makes barely a ripple in the pond, considering the overall picture. Now I won't hear any silly arguments about taking it all back, or if you somehow force me to take it back, I'll give it all to S.P.E.W. and Ron, the duly appointed Treasurer, can explain what that's all about as Hermione and I are almost late to return to Privet Drive."

Both women looked at each other, knowing full well about Hermione's ideas regarding House Elves. "When you've got us cornered, you've got us cornered." Said Tonks as she looked at Molly, "There's no point arguing with that."

Both Hermione and Ron actually looked quite disappointed. She wasn't going to get almost a quarter of a million Galleons to promote House Elf freedom, and Ron, because he wanted to bury himself in all that gold. Harry caught the expression on her face and smiled knowing that she knew full well she could have that and more if she wanted it, she had, after all, a key to his … their vault.

Hermione transformed into her Animagus form and landed on Harry's shoulder. Harry stood up carefully while saying, "I guess that's a hint that we are on our way, I expect that we'll drop in tomorrow afternoon on our way back to Oxford. Thank you both for not making a big bother about a little bit of gold. Enjoy the gold and I'm sure you can give Bill and Fleur a brilliant wedding, they deserve nothing less."

In a small but brilliant white flash Hermione placed Harry

in his old bedroom at number four Privet Drive, the one she was intended to use. Hermione unsealed the door and they proceeded downstairs quietly, hand in hand, as the hall clock struck the hour of twelve. Petunia had set two places for them at the table and Uncle Vernon was about to make some comments about their kind of people not putting much store in being on time and delaying lunch when he saw them enter the kitchen.


	24. Chapter 24 Back in Surrey

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the first 6 books in the Harry Potter series by J K Rowling belong to the aforementioned J K Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

**(24) Back in Surrey**

"Your hall clock is about a minute fast Uncle Vernon." Said Harry in an effort to provoke a reaction. Vernon remembered the results of the last time he said something to Harry and decided to keep his mouth shut except for eating. He could still feel the bump on the back of his head from being slammed into the wall.

After a relatively pleasant lunch, Harry and Hermione took a long walk around the neighbourhood. As they wandered further from home they found a few teenagers to talk to that Harry didn't recognize from previous summers. He didn't usually wander this far from home either. They actually got along quite well with the teens they met until someone mentioned the Dursleys and Dudley's name came up, which prompted another teen to mention something about a kid named Potter that was bad too. To this point they had only introduced themselves using first names.

Hermione then spoke up and said, "This is Harry Potter and that story is a big fat lie." Her mind was working feverishly to come up with enough of the truth and whatever fabrication she could manage on short notice that she could tell these muggles, and be convincing. The other teens looked at her in shock, wondering why such a pretty girl would have anything to do with the Potter they had been warned about. "Harry's parents, before they died, had arranged for his education at an exclusive private school in Scotland. A school that the Dursleys would never qualify for, so of course they wouldn't tell anyone else the truth. They made up that lie so they would appear good and righteous to their neighbours."

One of the teens said, "I have two cousins, twins actually, their last name is Patil, and they go to a school in Scotland. I can't find out much information about it through the family except that you have to be invited to go. Have you met them?"

Hermione flinched, but Harry picked up the conversation. "Parvati and Padma, yes we know them both. I asked Parvati to accompany me to a Christmas dance two years ago, apparently I wasn't up to her expectations and she's been mad at me ever since."

"Harry Potter and Hermione … Granger is it?" he asked.

"Yes."

"I've overheard those names in whispered conversations from time to time as well as some other names. Can you tell us about the school, I can't find out much at home for some reason."

"There are some security issues involved." Said Hermione. "Because of some of the political affiliations and family ties of the students and staff we are required to keep quiet about it if we want to continue attending."

They walked around that area for a while talking to the muggle teens until around suppertime. The teens broke up and left for their homes. Harry and Hermione found a secluded spot between some trees and a high fence that they could use to apparate to the Dursleys back yard when Hermione's cel phone rang and she had to transport her parents home. When she returned a few minutes later, she and Harry apparated to the back yard of number four Privet Drive.

Monday July 7 1997 - Suppertime

They entered through the back door into the kitchen just as the table was being set. Hermione finished setting the table and Harry helped Aunt Petunia with supper. During the meal Vernon and Dudley said almost nothing, Petunia however, kept up a careful conversation with Harry and Hermione that didn't come near the subject of magic. After supper the pair went outside to read and to practice wandless magic.

Professor McGonagall again showed up keeping an eye on them. She wasn't making any attempt to hide this time, in her Tabby Cat form she wandered across the back yard towards them, she stopped near Hermione and looked up. Hermione, being used to Crookshanks, absentmindedly reached down and started to scratch Minerva's head and ears. Harry also had his face in a book, however, when he looked up he recognized the stoic Tabby Cat that Hermione was scratching.

"Dear …" he called.

"Yessss …" she replied, still concentrating on her book.

"That is NOT Crookshanks."

Hermione pulled her hand away sharply and looked down. Her look of confusion changed rapidly to shock as she saw Minerva emerge, grinning, from her cat form to stand beside Hermione. "Hello Professor." Harry chanted, Hermione was still in shock.

"It is my turn to keep an eye on you two again this evening. I heard about your gifts to Tonks and the Weasleys, and no they're not shouting about it. I went to see Molly about the teaching position, Tonks was still there with Remus, Arthur and Bill had recently arrived, and they were still discussing the gold."

"We knew it would create some issues, we didn't need the gold and we knew that Remus and the Weasleys could make good use of it." Responded Harry

"That was very generous of you Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, I'm quite proud of you both and so is Molly, even though she is having a difficult time accepting it for the moment. She isn't upset at you in any way, it's just a matter of accepting your generosity.

"That's a relief." Said Hermione. "We expected they would want us to take it back … at least initially."

"Yes … well … that was part of the discussion. I reminded them that you obviously wanted them to have it or you wouldn't have given it to them. Bill told them that you made firm arrangements with Ragnok that Gringotts wouldn't allow them to return the gold. He also told them the only way they could get rid of the gold was to spend it or give it away, but they couldn't give it back." Said Minerva.

"Excellent." Said Harry and Hermione together, and Harry continued by saying, "We are planning on returning to the castle on Wednesdays for two or three days each week if that's all right."

"Yes, that will be fine, however it has come to my attention that your group's sleeping arrangements should be questioned. Harry, you are almost seventeen and you, Hermione, are seventeen, and with all the responsibilities you've both had to shoulder, I'm going to look the other way for a few weeks. After that, you are both considered adults and responsible for your own mistakes. Poppy mentioned a new potion that you found which eased her concerns and thus mine as well. My primary concerns are Ginny and Luna, and to see to it that they don't get into trouble."

"Luna makes her own potion." Said Hermione as Harry's attention snapped to her. "And I gave some of a batch I received from Madam Pomfrey to Ginny, which she gratefully accepted. Both of them should be safe enough unless Ron or Neville have Harry's magical power. Neither showed as pregnant yesterday morning when I tested them."

"I see you're on top of things Miss Granger. I will ask Poppy to allow you access to the necessary potions for them and as long as they are discreet I should be able to ignore the issue."

"Actually, when Harry realized what might be going on, he had a talk to the guys and asked me to make sure the girls were safe."

"I'm impressed Mr. Potter, if I could award House Points for that I certainly would."

"Self preservation really … if they get into trouble, then it becomes my problem too. I don't know if we'll be able to foresee all the pitfalls ahead of us, but we don't have to create our own problems if we can help it."

"I'm going over to see Arabella for a bit, but I'll be back soon.

Minerva left and the pair set up some silencing charms then started wandless duelling. The disarming charm was rather useless as they weren't using wands so they settled on some minor jinxes that could be shielded with a 'protego' shield charm. They had been going at it for a couple of hours with a few breaks. Harry had been mostly shielding while trying to catch Hermione off guard. Hermione had found herself sending hex after jinx out at Harry, while shielding or ducking his hexes. Finally Hermione snuck a stunner through Harry's shield and dropped him. On his way down Harry cut his hand on the leg of the bench they had been sitting on last week. It wasn't a big cut, but Hermione was frantic for a minute until she remembered she was a Phoenix. She moved Harry so he was clear of the bench and enervated him. After she positioned his hand she told him to stay still while she transformed into her white Phoenix form and came up beside his hand. As a Phoenix, recognizing a cut or injury started an automatic reaction within the bird to create the healing tears. It took a few lost tears before she placed some on the bleeding cut and both of them watched it heal. Harry hadn't realized that she could do that and Hermione wasn't sure herself, until she tried it.

When Harry got up he said, "Thank you dear." And she transformed back to herself. Standing in front of him she gave him a hug and an apology, to which he reciprocated the hug and replied philosophically that those were the hazards of duelling practice. He admitted he wasn't putting his best effort into it as he didn't want to risk hurting her.

That only served to make her mad and she backed up about fifteen steps before saying in an ominous voice, "Ready?"

Harry watched her expression as she backed up and he could feel her anger. She looked as fearless as Bellatrix and ready to wage war. Harry nodded when she spoke and knew that he was going to have to try to win.

Duelling with a wand, you could only send one spell at a time through it, wandless, he didn't know what he could do if pushed to the limit.

They started out one spell at a time and slowly sped up from there. After a short time there was a rapid barrage of light and spells going between them. The frequency of spells and the rapidly changing colours grew faster and faster until Hermione was visibly falling behind. She made a decision and jumped behind a relatively thin tree for cover yelling "STOP!" and Harry stopped a moment later.

Minerva had returned in her feline form and watched the second duel progress from start to finish. She had sensed that Hermione was upset about something at the beginning of the duel, but had no idea what. By the end she couldn't believe what she had seen. The spells and shields were happening so quickly she could barely keep track, and then it was over and Hermione was gone somewhere.

Hermione walked out carefully from behind a tall tree near the fence, a little shaken but otherwise alright. Minerva came further around the corner of the house before transforming back into the Headmistress.

The Professor looked back and forth between the two with a questioning expression on her face. Both teens had broken into a profuse sweat during the duel and their shirts were fairly soaked. "What happened here?" She asked. "I've never seen anything like that before, not even when Albus and Filius used to practice."

Harry deferred to Hermione to explain and she answered, "We duelled before and I knocked Harry out with a stunner. It was nothing like you just saw, it wasn't as fast, just a steady exchange of spells. He admitted he wasn't really trying because he didn't want to hurt me. I got mad at him because what's the point if you won't try to do your best?"

"Fair point." Said Minerva.

"Well …" Said Harry. "I could see the determination in her face and feel the anger flowing from her, I knew I was in for a fight and I dared not give her a chance. We started out at the speed we finished the last one at and accelerated from there. It's interesting to know I can get three hexes out before I need to recast my block."

"I don't want to see you getting that ferocious here in case someone gets hurt. Continue this at school or at The Burrow with Poppy or an older Adult in attendance and we'll see how you do against the other four as well. Filius was a duelling champion many years ago, I know he would be very impressed with you two. Now then hug and off to the showers with you. Oh … and cancel the silencing charm around here."

They hugged and Harry raised his hand making a circle in the air with it and the silencing charm faded away. "Thanks Professor." Said Hermione." As they walked inside hand in hand and made their way upstairs. They walked into the bathroom, closed and locked the door and Harry started the water running. Hermione apologized to Harry for getting mad at him and Harry apologized for not doing it properly the first time.

Harry realized that they were both standing there with the water running and offered to leave and let Hermione shower first. She told him to, "Find some towels for both of us." And started to get undressed. Harry nodded, reached into the cupboard and pulled out two fluffy white towels that were usually reserved for his aunt and uncle, then followed her lead and climbed into the shower after her. They finished making up in the shower if the sight of water flowing uphill was any indication. Hermione suggested that maybe that was their first disagreement as a couple.

Harry said, "If that was a disagreement I'd hate to get into a full blown knock down drag out fight with you … on the other hand … the making up after could be worth it."

They didn't play around in the shower … much … before they climbed out and turned the water off. They used magic to dry each other off before wrapping the towels around themselves and making their way to Hermione's bedroom to get ready for bed. They both put on pyjamas this time and Hermione apparated them both to Aunt Marge's room because the bed was better and bigger. Not that that mattered much as they usually woke up floating above the mattress. He loved the feeling of her softness against him and her scent. She was in awe of his well muscled body and tender caresses. Soon they were asleep.

In the morning they were awakened by loud noises coming from the kitchen. They had silenced their bedrooms last night, but that only kept there noises private from the rest of the house. They could hear plainly all that went on in the house … if it was loud enough. They listened closely, but with two or three people talking at the same time it was hard to follow the rant. It didn't sound anything like Death Eaters trying to find them so they relaxed a little. They could distinguish Vernon, Petunia and Dudley as well as two more voices, one male and a female voice. The names Piers Polkiss, Dennis, Malcolm and Gordon were distinguishable along with Dudley's name. Harry commented to Hermione that those boys were part of Dudley's gang of neighbourhood thugs. Then they clearly heard the phrase, "… charged with the assault and …", "of a teenage girl." before the shouting drowned the rest out again. Hermione slapped her hand over her mouth to smother a scream while looking at Harry with the biggest chocolate brown eyes he'd ever seen. Several more phrases clearly made their way upstairs, "… caught in the act …", "… in custody …", "… bail hearing …" and "… two officers and the girl in the hospital …" put a grimace on Harry's face.

The teens flashed back to Harry's room and quickly got dressed before taking the silencing and locking charms off their rooms and proceeding down to the living room to watch the show. Probably not their smartest move. They crossed the living room, wherein stood a third muggle police officer, walked around the sofa and kneeled on the cushions, looking over the back of it into the kitchen. As they walked through the living room all the muggle eyes were on them and the conversation stopped. Vernon looked menacingly at Harry, while Harry considered his options for a moment. He whispered very quietly to Hermione to do or say nothing, no matter what.

Vernon stormed over to Harry screaming in his now hoarse voice that this was all Harry's fault, and if indeed his son had actually done what they said it must be Harry's fault for somehow making him do it. When Vernon reached Harry he raised his arm and followed through with a slap that knocked Harry off the sofa and onto the carpet, unconscious. Two of the officers immediately wrestled Vernon to the floor and restrained him with hand cuffs. Hermione had jumped to Harry's side and was checking him over as best she could, which was quite thoroughly considering she had read most of her parent's medical texts over the past five summers. One of the officers came over to check on Harry. Hermione fended her off and told her to stay back. The female officer tried to call an ambulance and Hermione severed the telephone line where only she could see it from her position.

Hermione screamed, "Fawkes!" and two seconds later the front door blew open as a large red and gold bird flew in perching on the sofa and watching both Hermione and the unconscious form of Harry. "Get the Headmistress and Madam Pomfrey … NOW!" Screamed Hermione, and the bird flew back through the door and disappeared over the roof.

Mrs. Figg was already talking over the floo to Minerva explaining what her cats had told her when Fawkes flashed into Minerva's office with Poppy, emergency medical supplies packed and ready to go. Soon after Mrs Figg had seen the police arrive she had sent all her cats to watch over the house and report back to her in shifts so there were always several cats watching.

"We'll see you in a few seconds, Arabella." Said Minerva. Minerva transfigured her robes into a muggle business suit and Poppy's attire so she looked like a muggle doctor. It wasn't ten seconds later that Minerva and Poppy appeared in Arabella's living room and shortly after that they were running down Wisteria Walk and onto Privet Drive. Minerva had managed to explain to the healer that the house was full of muggles and police and Harry's uncle had hit him, knocking him to the floor unconscious. Although the muggle police appeared to be trying to help Harry, Hermione was fending them off and keeping them away from him. Five minutes after the red and gold bird left, Minerva and Poppy arrived at the front door of number four Privet Drive. Minerva knocked on the open door and the two women walked briskly into the house and towards Hermione.

Hermione visibly relaxed when she saw Minerva and Poppy enter the house. Poppy immediately came over to her and Harry. The officers cleared a path for her when they assumed by her attire that she was a doctor. Minerva introduced herself to the lone female officer showing her a muggle business card from a no less exclusive, yet muggle, private school that was also located in Scotland. The school was staffed by and took only Squibs from all Magical families and immediate family members from muggle families that had students going to Hogwarts.

Poppy head came up and in her authoritative voice she yelled, "Everyone out … NOW! … I need quiet!" Hermione and Minerva invigorated the procession out of the house. By now the third and fourth police car were arriving because of the cut off phone call and most of the neighbours were in the process of watching the goings on at number 4. Some of the bolder ones were even walking over to get a closer look as Dudley and Vernon were frog marched out to separate cars, then taken away. Hermione helped Petunia back into the house so she wouldn't have to face the neighbours just yet. In the meantime Harry awoke on his own as Poppy was checking him over for a concussion when Hermione threw herself at him, engulfing him in a hug.

"Miss Granger!" expounded the school nurse, "Back off for a minute… I'm still trying to check him out!" Hermione backed off a couple of steps, keeping eye contact with Harry.


	25. Chapter 25 Off Again

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the first 6 books in the Harry Potter series by J K Rowling belong to the aforementioned J K Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

21-05-07 minor update Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z denotes change of scene and text between 2 'Z' has been modified.

**(25) Off Again**

_Tuesday July 8_

"He's got a nasty headache from the bumps and bruises." Hermione said, "but otherwise he feels fine." Hermione kept the eye contact, actively searching through his mind to try to find out where the pain was coming from. As Hermione moved closer to him, only Harry could see her eyes change shape and colour. While her body didn't change Hermione was able to change the shape and size of her eyes to resemble those of a Phoenix and she was able to collect on her index fingers a couple of tears from each eye before they returned to normal. She applied one damp finger to Harry's cheek where Vernon had hit him and then she moved as much of his hair away from the bump on the back of his head as she could and applied the second finger of tears to that bump. About a minute later Harry's cheek appeared normal and the bump on the back of his head was gone as was his headache.

"What was that you did!" Poppy was almost yelling at Hermione, unsure what kind of magic she was using.

"Phoenix tears." Said Hermione in a gentle voice while she ran her hands through Harry's hair. "I looked through Harry's mind to find where the pain was coming from and applied the tears externally."

Z

Harry said, "Thank you dear." While Poppy and Minerva looked at the teens in surprise. Both women knew she was a Phoenix, but she wasn't transformed at the time. They hadn't noticed her eyes change because she was facing Harry at the time. They would never have been sure that an Animagus Phoenixes tears contained the same healing powers as a normal Phoenix. _If you could call a Phoenix normal._

Z

There was only one police car left outside when Minerva asked the female officer back inside. Statements were taken from Harry and Hermione to corroborate the written reports that the three officers would make later. Harry asked for a few minutes to talk to his Aunt while the officer talked to Hermione.

Harry later talked to the officer and she doubted that either Dudley or Vernon would be released soon, they had too much 'attitude', unless someone put up a significant amount for bail. Harry and Hermione then asked if there was anything they could do for the officers in the hospital or the poor girl that Dudley attacked. She told them that the officers had probably been released from the hospital by now and she couldn't divulge the name of the girl, but they could try room 312 of the nearest hospital. Harry knew which hospital that was as he had been there a few times in the past when Dudley got carried away beating on him. Harry and Hermione thanked the officer and by the time everything settled down it was well past noon, allowing the teens to leave.

Aunt Petunia took them to the Hospital, but she didn't feel comfortable going in to see the girl. Harry and Hermione found their way to room 312 quite easily. No one attempted to stop them or ask who they were. The name tag by the door had 'Rose Zeller' printed on it. Hermione recognized the name to be the same as a Hufflepuff girl a few years behind them, could it be? They quickly looked around, no one was watching, so they went into the room. The girl was awake but quite a mess, Hermione asked softly, "Can you speak."

"Yes." Came an equally soft reply.

"Does the word Hogwarts, mean anything to you?" asked Hermione.

"My School." She answered. "And who are you?" She could barely see, her eyes were swollen closed.

"Harry Potter and Hermione Granger." Harry replied, "We heard about your … situation … and came to see if we could help."

"Can you find my parents?" Rose asked.

'_Fawkes'_ Harry called out in his mind, as Hermione asked Rose if her parents were magic or Muggle. Rose replied that they're both magical so these Muggles will never find them. Hermione asked her to imagine her parents and where they would be now. Fawkes had arrived and Harry was telling him to bring Roses Parents. Fawkes wanted to heal Rose, but Harry insisted that he bring her parents first.

Hermione told Harry to go outside and lock the door so the muggles couldn't get in. She was going to have to open up Roses hospital gown to get at all the cuts and bruises.

When the Zellers arrived Fawkes hopped down to the bed and the two Phoenixes made short work of repairing the young girl's wounds. The Phoenixes moved away to allow the parents access to their daughter. Unobserved, behind Roses parents, Hermione transformed back to herself before moving closer. It surprised the parents when a hand reached over and their daughter was covered again in the muggle hospital gown.

"We can take you to see Madam Pomfrey, Rose should see a healer in case there's anything we missed, but you need to sign her out of this hospital so the Muggle authorities will have a way to contact her for the trial of her attackers. If she simply disappears from here there won't be any punishment for them." Said Hermione as she called Harry back into the room. "Most importantly, you never saw us or the two Phoenixes." Hermione pulled her wand and said, "Now I should use some glamour charms to make her look as bad as before so the muggles won't be suspicious when we take her away."

While Hermione was applying the glamour charms Rose explained what happened. The group of boys were bullying her so she pulled out her wand intending on stunning them. When the large boy saw her wand he went crazy and jumped on her knocking her down and pinning her to the grass. He took her wand and broke it before beating her and knocking her unconscious.

Hermione said, "The boys have been caught and are now in police custody. We found out because one of the boys is Harry's Muggle cousin and he had been taught by his father to hate anyone magical including Harry. When you pulled your wand, he would have recognized what it was and knew you were a witch."

Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z

Once Rose was signed out of the Hospital they used a wheelchair to transport her to Aunt Petunia's waiting car. Petunia was in shocked horror to see this badly beaten girl slip into the back seat with her parents. Harry got into the front seat before making introductions then asked Petunia to take them all to Mrs. Figg's. Petunia looked at Harry like he was crazy before Harry explained that Mrs. Figg was a Squib and she had a magical fireplace. Then Harry had to explain what a Squib was.

Hermione said she would meet them at Mrs. Figg's, and then disappeared into the parking lot looking for a place she could hide and apparate.

Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z

Hermione met them all on the sidewalk in front of Mrs. Figg's house on Wisteria Walk and guided them all inside while Petunia continued home. Once inside Hermione removed the glamour charms she had placed on Rose. Hermione had apparated here from the parking lot of the Hospital and explained most of it to the charming old lady who kindly agreed to the use of her fireplace.

Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z

They used the floo connection to get to Minerva's office in Hogwarts, Hermione stayed to explain to Minerva while Harry took the Zellers to the Hospital Wing. After leaving Rose and her parents with Madam Pomfrey, the teens explained what happened, to Minerva. The Headmistress was needless to say quite concerned with the interference they had caused at the Muggle hospital and with the Muggle legal system until they explained that her parents had signed Rose out of the hospital and left contact information for the hospital and police.

As it turned out, the two Phoenixes had missed some minor internal injuries that, as Madam Pomfrey told Rose and her parents would have healed in a short time anyway. After Poppy performed her magic on Rose they were allowed to go on the condition that they see Headmistress McGonagall before they leave the castle.

Z

Hermione was beginning to relax after a hectic morning and early afternoon when she suddenly realized that she had summoned Fawkes and given him orders in front of Muggle Police, though the Police didn't seem to question it. You don't normally see a very large red and gold bird fly into a Muggle house, let alone appear to take orders and fly back out. When Hermione fully explained her conundrum to Madam Pomfrey, the Matron merely smiled for a moment before responding. "Fawkes is a very smart old bird; he doesn't allow himself to be seen by Muggles or even us unless he wants to. The Muggles probably remember a sparrow flying in and out and your commands to Fawkes were probably obliviated by him. There is a lot more that you can learn from Fawkes besides flying, apparating and healing. Spend some time with Fawkes … there's a thousand years of knowledge and then some, in that old bird."

Z

Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z

It was getting late in the afternoon by now so Harry and Hermione travelled straight to Oxford and settled in while waiting for her parents to return from work. They started planning for the next few days back at Hogwarts, they needed to find Horcruxes and be able to destroy Horcruxes as well as duelling practice, occlumency and legilimency practice. Harry wondered when they were going to find time for all this.

Dan and Emma had arrived home, supper had come and gone and now it was early evening. Hermione reminded Harry that they had said they would stop at The Burrow on their way back from Surrey, they had been sidetracked by other events and evening was probably better because Mr. Weasley would also be home now.

When they arrived at The Burrow they found Molly very quickly, Bill, Fleur, Ron and Luna were there also, Ginny was visiting Neville. Fleur and Hermione wandered outside and Arthur came out of his study when he heard Harry's voice. He and Molly had a quiet discussion with Harry about his generosity while they cleared up the last of their concerns. Bill and Fleur would end up with a fabulous wedding, not too crazy, but a lot nicer than they originally planned. Arthur, Molly and Bill thanked Harry profusely before they'd let him look for Hermione.

Harry had just gone outside when he saw Hermione and Fleur, a long way off, but apparently on their way back. Harry tried to reach out with his mind and sense Hermione's feelings, all he perceived was a sense of happiness which was fine for now. He assumed they were talking about Fleur's wedding plans. Because of Bill's injuries they had moved the wedding back to the beginning of August to allow him some more time to heal and get accustomed to his new quirks. At the last full moon he didn't turn into a werewolf, but he did become quite irritable bordering on vicious. Fleur found that a calming draft eased his temper and quieted him to a normal level.

Harry wandered out to meet Fleur and Hermione. When they met, Fleur thanked Harry for his generosity and gave him a quick kiss on his cheek. Harry and Hermione excused themselves and Hermione apparated herself and Harry back to Oxford. The next day they would be leaving for Hogwarts from The Burrow at eleven.

Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z

_Wed July 9 ch 25_

They had both slept in, thus missing the departure of the Grangers that morning. Hermione woke up, on her own, first this time, and was quite torn between staying with her warm, lumpy pillow and the call of nature that awoke her. When she realized the lateness of the hour, she wriggled her way up Harry and kissed him. That woke him up in more ways than one and he reacted by squeezing her while returning her kiss. Hermione disapparated from his hug with a squeaked, "Gotta go." And a 'POP' that was loud, but not ear shattering.

A slightly surprised Harry flopped over onto his back and looked down at the pyramid like structure of the quilt at his hips, willing it to collapse. He heard a scream coming from the loo, "Harry get up! We're going to be late getting to The Burrow!"

Harry groaned before whining, "Forget them … come back and cuddle."

"Harry! Come on … I'm starting the shower … I'll wash your back for you."

Invigorated by the thought and with a smile on his lips, he got out of bed before saying, "You never seem to know where my back starts and stops." While moving in the direction of her voice.

"You haven't figured out where my back starts and stops either." Hermione replied with a smirk. "Maybe we need more practice?"

"I think it's the confundus charm you put on me." He whispered as he slipped into the shower with her.

Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z

Hermione apparated Harry, with a loud 'POP', to the Weasley's back yard and they started to walk towards the house hand in hand, with smiles on their faces.

They both waved at Ron when he stuck his head out the window and yelled, "We were going to start looking for you, if you didn't show up soon." Luna slapped Ron on his bum causing him to jump and straighten up. He turned and looked at Luna as if to say _'what did I do?'_

They all gathered in the Weasley kitchen and Harry called Fawkes. The large red and gold bird arrived moments later in a flash of red flame and landed on a chair back facing Harry. Harry and Fawkes traded thoughts for a moment, apparently Minerva wasn't in her office so Harry sent Fawkes back to alert the Headmistress of their impending arrival. Soon Fawkes returned passing on an image of the Head's Common Room to Harry who nodded accepting the choice. Everyone joined hands and Fawkes apparated them to the agreed destination. On arrival, Ron, Neville and Ginny looked curiously at Harry trying to understand how or if he was actually communicating to Fawkes.

Hermione caught their stares and said only one word, "Legilimency." Enlightenment dawned and a few head shakes followed.

Luna asked, "Hermione, do you have a plan worked out for what we're doing this week?"

"Well," Hermione said hesitantly, "Tomorrow Harry promised to help Professor Slughorn for a while. I could help you guys learn legilimency then, later we could proceed to occlumency when Harry returns. Today, we could do some DA practice and some research into horcruxes as we have one to destroy."

"We should also explore our Animagus forms and get familiar with their abilities." Added Harry, "Have any of you told anyone about it?"

"Harry," said Neville, "I showed my Gran and she was really happy … until I told her she couldn't say anything about it or I'd be in trouble because I'm not getting registered. She was still happy, but I think she wanted to be able to brag to her friends." Neville smiled.

"I know it's exciting, I just don't want too many people knowing since we're not going to get registered … for a while" said Harry, "Anyone else?"

"My Dad has known since last summer" said Luna, "And I'm not registered."

"We didn't dare tell Mom and Dad," said Ron, "but we showed Fred and George when we went to their shop in Diagon Alley."

"They were most impressed," said Giinny, "they won't tell anyone, we made them promise."

"I expect McGonagall will inform The Order, at least the higher ups, which includes your parents and Bill, so you might as well let them in on it first. They know I'm a Phoenix now anyway." Said Hermione.

Z

"Oh, before we split up into couples … The Headmistress is aware of our … 'sleeping arrangements' … as long as we don't get obvious about it, she'll turn a blind eye." said Harry, "She was, however, most concerned that Ginny and Luna wouldn't get into … 'trouble'. Hermione assured her that you wouldn't. If you need any potions, let Hermione or me know."

Z

"I was planning on using the Room of Requirement for DA as we have before and I doubt if we will be using the Gryffindor Common Room for anything this week besides relaxing in case anyone feels the need to relocate their sleeping quarters." said Harry

"We might as well fly, run or trot down to lunch," suggested Hermione, "After we sort out our 'nocturnal arrangements' as Harry put it."

Ron, Ginny, Neville and Luna made their way to the Gryffindor Common Room a few paintings away down the hall. After they entered Ron's strategic mind cut in and he said, "We have to use the boy's dorms because of the stairs, but we shouldn't use our sixth year dorms in case one of us in our sleep walks in on the other couple or someone comes looking for us." So they split up into couples.

Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z

The four met back in the Gryffindor Common Room in time to head down for lunch in the Great Hall. Harry and Hermione were already seated in The Great Hall when the four arrived.

When asked by Minerva, near the end of lunch, Hermione reiterated their rough plan for today and tomorrow. Remus had been coming to the castle to prepare for his Defence post and Minerva suggested that he and Filius check out the DA training.

"We're going to try to teach you to do wandless magic, we should all try it. In battle if you loose your wand, at the very least you may be able to get it back or cast a shield. That was the idea Harry and I started with. Let's get up to The Room of Requirement where we can practice." Said Hermione.

Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z

In the Room of Requirement

Hermione started by explaining that the major differences were the amount of concentration to focus the magic and building up the magical energy before releasing it. Essentially the functions that your wand does for you. Your wand, because of its core and the magical wood it's made of, magnifies your magic and focuses it. Without a wand you have to build up the … reserve of magical energy … inside you, while concentrating on what you want it to do. At first, you'll have to concentrate really hard, hard enough to create sweat. When you release the magic, you have to direct it to where you want the magic to act. You can say the spell if you want, it may help you concentrate on the result and you can point your finger as if it were your wand, that may help you give it direction. Once you have some success, your mind and body will start to learn what they need to do. With practice it will become easier. Once you get to the stage where Harry and I are, it becomes more like accidental magic, you simply concentrate on the results and it happens.

"A word of warning" Hermione said, "Don't start out with lighting a candle, I nearly roasted Harry and myself with a huge fireball trying to light a tiny candle. Proportion is important. Watch this."

Hermione appeared to concentrate and a small candle appeared in mid air about 2 meters away from the group. There were three gasps, Harry and Luna only smiled. The candle stayed motionless and Hermione continued by saying, "Proportion is the first lesson, keep your eyes open and on the target." Well above the candle, Hermione conjured a candle flame that was about half a meter across at the base. It remained floating well above the candle.

"Now if I lower that onto the candle as it is, the poor candle will vaporize from the heat and ignite causing a larger flash fire."

Hermione reduced the size of the flame to a suitable size for the candle then started moving it towards the candle. "You need to hold it there for a few seconds as if you were holding a match to light the candle, then release the magic." The flame landed on the wick of the candle and remained for a second before it disappeared and the candles own flickering flame remained.

Remus had entered the room and watched as the flame shrunk and floated over to the candle. During a second glance around he was confused that no one had a wand out to do the magic. Remus stood near the door watching. Harry had noticed him, but everyone else was facing the centre of the room watching the candle with intense interest.

"Why don't you start them out with feathers, dear, they should be relatively harmless." Harry said as he conjured an eagle feather and sent it flying into the candle like an arrow.

"Harry! Quit playing around! This is serious!" Hermione said as she waved her hand, the lit candle and feather both vanished and as her hand returned a table with four large white feathers appeared.

"Whoa!" Ron exclaimed. And Remus simply nodded his head, smiled and started to move towards them.

"Hello Professor Lupin" said Harry, startling the group who hadn't heard him come in.

"For the time being call me Remus, I'm not your Professor yet and I only came to watch."


	26. Chapter 26 Neville's Feather

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the first 6 books in the Harry Potter series by J K Rowling belong to the aforementioned J K Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

**(26) Neville's Feather**

"Alright guys, make those feathers twitch and dance." Said Harry to the others.

"Keep your eyes open and concentrate really hard, build up your magical energy and make those feathers soar." Prompted Hermione.

After a few minutes Luna's feather moved ever so slightly, it took another few minutes for it to twitch again. Neville was getting mad and frustrated, finally his feather erupted in a ball of flame leaving scorch marks on the table.

"That's the idea Neville, except make it float instead of burning it up." Said Harry exuberantly. They all looked at Harry like he was crazy, so he continued,

"Well he did something with his feather. I saw yours move Luna."

"It did?" asked Luna.

"Keep your eyes open, watch your feather, make it move, you can do more with your eyes and mind than you can with the finger your pointing at it, concentrate." Said Harry as he conjured another feather for Neville. "I seem to remember you needed two feathers in first year too Neville … you needed a wand to burn up the first one … now you can burn it up without a wand."

Neville grinned and tried again with more concentration, to levitate the feather.

"Concentrate on your feather, only the feather, block out everything else, ignore everything else," said Harry in a soft, slow monotone, "That feather is the only thing in the universe and all you have to do is lift it one inch … one miserable, scrawny inch …"

Ron's feather jumped up and he yelled, "I did it, I did it." Breaking everyone's concentration, while the feather gently floated down to the table again.

"Good work Ron," said Harry, "I'll take Ron away so you can all concentrate … we'll be across the room." Ron and Harry walked away leaving the feather behind.

While the three were back to concentrating on their feathers, Harry had conjured another table, several feathers and two chairs, well away from everyone else. Remus quietly approached the feather that Ron had left behind, then picked it up and examined it. While returning the feather to the table he pulled out his wand and levitated the feather, then returned the feather to the table top. Remus put away his wand and started concentrating on the feather just as the others were doing.

Harry tried to get Ron to levitate a feather again and keep it in the air, they had been trying for a while and Ron couldn't seem to repeat what he had done before. In the meantime they had heard a few noises from the other table that seemed to indicate some level of success.

Harry coaxed Ron some more, Ron was getting frustrated and mad. Harry tried a different analogy than creating a reserve of magical energy, he suggested that pooling the magical energy was more like filling a sink or tub with water, then send the energy towards the feather while concentrating on lifting the feather.

Ron closed his eyes and concentrated on him in a bath tub and the bathtub filling with magical energy. Ron concentrated and waited for the tub to fill.

Harry began to feel the magical energy radiating from Ron then jumped and rolled backwards before creating a heavy stone wall between him and Ron.

A moment later, with a loud report, the feather blasted off from the table and was embedded in the ceiling of the Room of Requirement. When Harry removed the stone wall, Ron was sitting in his chair, a dazed look on his soot covered face, the table and Harry's chair were splintered. There was ash all over the floor and Ron's hair was sticking straight out from his head.

- - - - - - - -

Meanwhile

They had been at it a while, Luna and Neville had both managed to float their feathers for a short time, Ginny's had twitched and moved, but none of them were having consistent results.

All of a sudden a thick stone wall appeared on the other side of the room and Harry could be seen rolling on the floor away from the wall. Hermione opened her mouth to say something when a loud BANG was heard and echoed around the room, a bright flash could be seen over the wall and something hit the ceiling showering down dust and rock chips.

- - - - - - - -

Hermione ran to Harry while Remus, Luna and the others ran around the wall to find Ron. Harry was up on his feet and banishing the wall by the time Hermione got to him. She checked Harry over and hugged him while the wall slowly disappeared. As the wall vanished they could see Remus checking Ron over while Luna started cleaning him up. Hermione could see a lot of little cuts and slivers on exposed skin of Ron's face and hands so she changed into her white Phoenix and flashed to the Hospital Wing to fetch Madam Pomfrey.

Harry got Remus' and Luna's attention and told then that Madam Pomfrey was on her way. Having already looked into Ron's eyes and determined from his mind that there wasn't anything serious wrong with him, Harry proceeded to clean up the mess. Ron was still dazed and confused when Madam Pomfrey arrived a minute later in a bright white flash that startled several others. Other than Harry the teens and Remus weren't used to Hermione flashing in and out as a white Phoenix.

Luna and Remus began summoning and banishing the slivers of wood embedded in Ron's clothing while Poppy closed his cuts and started to remove the slivers from his exposed skin.

Poppy wished that Ron was on one of her hospital beds, he would be at a better height and angle to work on. The room immediately, though slowly, morphed the chair he was still sitting in into a replica of a Hospital Wing bed while keeping Ron on it, surprising Poppy until she realized what room they must be in. She had kept Ron unconscious while working on him so he wouldn't feel the slivers being pulled out and the cuts healing. Poppy silently thanked the founders, for, when the room was created it was enchanted with many safety charms to absorb most or all of a dangerous or too powerful spell.

Remus and Luna finished de-slivering and repairing Ron's clothing about the same time Poppy declared she was done with the rest of him. Poppy flicked her wand again while saying, "Rennervate" and Ron started to awaken. As Ron's eyes opened and began focusing his vision was obscured by a blond haired Ravenclaw girl that had climbed partway up onto the bed and was looking straight down into his face.

"Ronald Weasley, "Luna shouted, reminding Ginny of her mother's shout, "What did you thing you were doing?"

Ron had managed a wider range of focus by now and spotted his feather embedded in the ceiling. Replying to Luna's question he raised his arm to point at the feather, a grimace of pain faded from his face as he said, "I got my feather to stay up!" Everyone except Luna looked up to see the mangled feather that was embedded in the ceiling

Poppy shoved a cup of potion between the two faces and said, "drink this and the pain will go away, stay in bed for an hour, after that you can get up."

Luna lifted Ron's head with one hand and took the cup from Madam Pomfrey, saying, "I'll make sure he stays here for an hour." Luna slowly poured the potion into his mouth and when Ron had finished swallowing all of it, she climbed into the bed beside him.

Poppy raised an eyebrow at the scene before her and said, "He should sleep for most of that hour, I don't want you keeping him awake Miss Lovegood."

"Yes Ma'am." Responded Luna, then looking at Ron she said, "You heard … now go to sleep."

"Yes dear." Ron replied dutifully. Luna kissed him when he closed his eyes, then Ron drifted off to sleep. Everyone moved away and Harry willed the room to put up a soundproof curtain around the bed. The teens were silently amused at Ron's last statement as they made their way back to the first table of feathers.

The six had gathered, surrounding the table of feathers, when Remus asked what happened to Ron. Harry held out his arm, pointing a finger at several spots around the table as one after the other, six Chintz Arm Chairs appeared, similar to the ones Albus used to conjure.

"Have a seat," Harry said, "I suggested to Ron that pooling his magical energy was more like filling a tub with water … he must have taken the idea to the extreme … the next thing I knew I could feel magic radiating off him. I panicked a bit and jumped away, creating a wall to shield everyone else. I hoped Ron's magic wouldn't hurt him … I guess I was wrong."

"You were right and wrong" said Madam Pomfrey, "This room will absorb most dangerous magic. You shouldn't be able to kill anyone in here unless you do it deliberately a little bit at a time. Ron's injuries were caused by the wood and rock splinters and the concussion from the explosive release of his magic. Had you been in any other room, he could have been seriously hurt or killed. Remus, I'm surprised at you, for teaching this in such an uncontrolled manner."

"I was only observing Poppy," said Remus, "Harry and Hermione are teaching, I can't even do wandless magic yet."

"Wandless magic! Remus, what do you mean wandless magic … these kids are too young to do wandless magic … you need a lot of power and training for that!" shrieked Madam Pomfrey.

Neville stared at a feather, concentrated so much he twisted his face, reached out with his arm, and, as he raised his hand, the feather rose up from the table. Poppy looked back and forth between Neville and the feather in shocked disbelief. Remus nodded his head and Harry said, "Very good Neville!"

They talked and demonstrated some more wandless magic for a while that must have lasted an hour because Ron and Luna finally came out from behind the curtain and joined the group. Harry and Hermione offered their chairs to Ron and Luna as they stood up. "Dear…" Harry said, "While Madam Pomfrey is still here let's demonstrate wandless duelling."

"Wandless Duelling?" questioned Poppy and Remus together. "You can actually duel without wands?"

"Wands actually slow us down," said Hermione. "First, this is strictly between those present in this room now and Professor McGonagall. We don't want this to become common knowledge. We'll start at it slowly and then speed up the exchange of spells. When we get up to speed, we'll hold it for a while, then slow down and stop." The pair placed their wands on the table, walked away and separated to about ten meters. They positioned themselves in a side on duelling stance to limit the size of their profile, then looked at each other for a moment before starting the exchange of spells. They each cast spells and shields alternately for a few seconds then changed their stance to face each other while starting to speed up. They both now had an arm straight out towards the other, fingers twitching and flicking as if spells were coming out of one finger after the other on each hand. The pair reached a speed where the light show was a spectacular assortment of reds, gold, blues and yellows in a constantly changing mix of colours and tints. When Harry slowed Hermione paced him spell for spell. Once they reached their starting speed, Harry held up his arms maintaining only a shield charm and then Hermione stopped as well.

Everyone stood and applauded the performance, while Ron walked towards them, meeting them about halfway back. The trio stopped for a moment for a group hug and a question then returned to the others. Many questions were asked and Hermione explained that they hadn't tried any spells more dangerous than stunners and this was only the second time they had tried wandless duelling so they had no idea what was possible with practice.

Harry suggested that they try levitating their feathers again for a while and then go to check out Rowena's library for more information. By the end of an hour Ron, Neville and Luna were able to levitate their feathers, they found it took a lot of concentration. Ginny's feather was twitching and levitating, though inconsistently, so it was just a matter of a little more practice for her. Remus feather still hadn't wiggled perceptibly at all.

They were all strained from the concentration, but the six teens and Remus headed for the Library to see, and in Remus case meet, Rowena Ravenclaw.

Once in the Library, they asked and Madam Pince opened the Restricted Section for them. Luna was in the lead and activated the portrait, a few seconds later Rowena appeared to step out of the portrait as before, surprising Remus who wasn't sure what to expect.

Professor, you'll need to hold my hand to get through." Harry said offering Remus his hand. Harry went through next to last, holding onto Remus who followed. Once they were all in Harry introduced Remus to Rowena while the others started looking through Rowena's collection of ancient tomes for anything related to horcruxes.

Rowena excused herself from Remus and Harry then made her way over to the others. "Are you looking for something specific?" She asked the group.

Ron replied, "We need to know how to find and destroy some horcruxes." Rowena's image appeared to be in shock at the revelation. Harry and Remus had followed her over and overheard Ron's reply. Remus looked at Harry curiously indicating that he didn't know what a horcrux was.

"That scheming Slytherin Devil!" exclaimed Rowena. "That kind of magic should have been lost long ago!" Rowena made her way to the far end of the book shelves and reached into an apparently empty shelf bringing forth an ancient hand written text. The book fell open in her hands and she read in silence as all of them watched her. After a few minutes and several turned pages she said. "Harry, bring Godric's sword and scabbard here … quickly now." She then made her way to the round table that now had eight chairs around it.

Harry left Remus behind and exited through the portrait at a run. He went through the Restricted Section and Library at top speed, down several corridors and staircases until he was at the gargoyles that guarded the Headmistresses office. It took him a minute to get enough wind to say the complete password and gain access to Minerva's office.

- - - - - - - -

Once Rowena and most of the others had congregated at the round table, the Tea Service Trolley appeared and made it's way to the table. Rowena took a chair as did the teens. Remus moved around behind Rowena and read over her shoulder. With his wolfish eyesight he didn't have to be as close to the book to read it properly. The cream and sugar was first to walk off the trolley onto the table followed by the tea cups on saucers as they were filled. While they were making their way to each person Rowena looked up and over her shoulder at Remus with a curious look in her eyes. "Werewolf? … You're a werewolf." She said, "Do these children have no fear of you?" The last two cups of tea finally made their way to the empty seats that were waiting for Remus and Harry.

"Why should they?" Remus responded, "I've been their teacher before and I will be their teacher again."

"I never thought I'd see the day … then again, I didn't … considering that I'm actually quite dead." Rowena said as she shook her head from side to side and grinned, then turned back to her book.

Remus made his way over to Hermione and whispered, "I've heard the term horcrux before, though I'm not clear what exactly it is." Hermione motioned him to the other side of the room and picking up her tea, followed him. Ron followed them both with Luna watching him from her seat at the table.

"Ron!" admonished Hermione, her voice slightly above a whisper, "You've got to be careful who's around and what you say!"

"But … but, Harry brought him here." Replied Ron.

"I take it I'm not supposed to know what this is all about?" questioned Remus.

"We never discussed letting you in on the secret, although I'm sure Harry won't object. He's traipsing through my mind right now trying to find out why I'm so concerned."

"He's what!" exclaimed Remus.

"Harry gets a little overprotective from time to time." Hermione answered as Rowena disappeared from the table and moments later re-entered through the portrait with Harry. Harry quickly put the sword and scabbard down on the table and joined Hermione, Ron and Remus.

"I apologize for looking through your mind dear, it was my muck up bringing Remus along with us, it never occurred to me that he wasn't in on it until I heard Ron say 'horcrux' earlier … it triggered in my mind then that he didn't know."

The trio agreed quickly to let Remus in on the secret, not that he couldn't have guessed it by then anyway. Hermione continued the explanation of the horcruxes after Harry was called away by Rowena.

Rowena pushed the book aside when Harry sat beside her and asked, "What do you know of the horcrux that has been made?"

"Seven horcruxes," replied Harry, "well, six plus Voldemort himself."

Rowena shook her head in disgust at the thought of seven horcruxes. Harry then explained that two had been destroyed, Voldemort had used a third one to return and Harry had one in his pocket, which left three to find and four to destroy.

"You have one," gasped Rowena, "In your pocket … now? And you destroyed the first one with a basilisk tooth, you said?"

"Yessss." Harry responded.

"Let me see, I need to examine it," said Rowena.

Harry pulled it out of his pocket and placed it on the table in front of Rowena. She picked it up looking at it carefully, then said, "I recognize this … it's the locket that Salazar gave his wife on their tenth anniversary." Rowena passed her wand hand over it several times causing it to glow in different colours each time. Rowena shook her head in disbelief before explaining to Harry, "The spell used to make this a horcrux was spoken in parseltongue, therefore the spell has to be undone in parseltongue or the locket has to be physically destroyed while killing the soul fragment at the same time." Not realizing that Harry could speak Parseltongue, Rowena passed the book she had been reading to Luna saying, "Read this chapter and apply the protection spell to Godric's sword, it should keep anyone safe while they use the sword to pierce the object containing the horcrux. You can touch Godrics sword, but don't pick it up … you're not a Gryffindor, that sword could hurt you if you pick it up." She then turned to Harry, "You'll need some fast acting snake venom to coat the tip or edge of the sword that cuts the object containing the horcrux. For now, go wake up Salazar's portrait Harry."

"What, you mean like how Hermione woke you up?"

"Yes, the same, do some magic on the portrait." Said Rowena impatiently.

Harry walked over to Slytherin's portrait, Salazar had a staff, like a tall walking stick, that had a snakes head carved in the top with emeralds for it's eyes. He was a tall skinny man with monkey like features and a very snake like face, his appearance made it very easy for Harry to imagine him as a snake, therefore Harry hissed in parseltongue, "Wake up Salazar, Rowena wants to talk to you." Most of the others were watching Harry anyway, but when Rowena heard the hissing sounds she snapped around to look at him. Hermione and Remus also looked up instantly.

Salazar came alive quickly and while stepping out of his portrait hissed back to Harry, "Who are you to speak the language of the serpent?"

Everyone watched intently as Harry and Salazar hissed back and forth to each other until Harry pointed to Rowena. They hissed for a few more seconds and then laughed as Salazar wrapped an arm around Harry and they both walked to where Rowena was sitting.

"Rowena, what's this about Marcy's locket and a horcrux?" asked Salazar in a very merry tone of voice. So far nobody else had moved, they were in a shocked stupor having just witnessed Salazar walk out of his portrait, then speak in parseltongue to Harry.

"One of your git descendants has gone and made up seven horcruxes. You remember that prophesy that Marcy made about a half-blood descendant of yours trying to become immortal and rule the world." Said Rowena.

"Oh yeah … the daft git … wasn't there supposed to be kid and his wife somewhere, to take him out?"

"Talk about a daft git … you were just talking to the kid and he doesn't get married until after."

"Hey, it's been near a thousand years … some of the details get a little fuzzy, besides, I always wanted him to get married first."

"Keep your voice down, his girl is over there talking to a werewolf." Rowena whispered as she looked towards Hermione and Remus. Salazar looked over to where Rowena indicated, he backed up several steps, and shook his head as if to throw off a nest of cobwebs.

Without saying anything Salazar leaned his staff towards Harry and watched him closely before leaning it towards Hermione and watching her for a minute. "Amazing … they're already sharing power and a connection to each other that is well above normal levels … even for wizards like us. Merlin should see this, Godric too." Salazar swung his staff around to point at Godric's portrait. Neither Godric nor Merlin appeared to be in their portraits, however, moments later, a Red and Gold Phoenix appeared in Godric's portrait, and then leaning his staff towards Merlin's portrait a White Phoenix appeared in it. A minute later a few loud squawks could be heard from the large birds in the portraits after which they changed back to their human forms. Godric and Merlin then stepped out of their portraits and Salazar walked over to meet them partway.


	27. Chapter 27 Claedfwlch

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the first 6 books in the Harry Potter series by J K Rowling belong to the aforementioned J K Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

**(27) Caledfwlch**

Hermione and all the others had been watching with great interest when they saw the two Phoenixes appear in the portraits and subsequently transform into Godric and Merlin. Minerva had said that Fawkes had belonged to Godric, but hadn't said anything about him being an Animagus. Hermione remembered being told that James had once suggested to Sirius that he should make the change to Padfoot, his grim form, permanent, but Sirius had declined the offer stating that he hated the fleas. She wondered if that was what Godric and Merlin had done.

Harry turned and asked, "Rowena do you know what artefacts from the four or five of you are out in the world? Items that Tom … Voldemort … could find to use for horcruxes? I am specifically thinking of something of yours and something of Gryffindor's."

"Most of our belongings were brought here after our deaths … well, Godric and Merlin never actually died … exactly. They both were Animagus Phoenixes and they made the change permanent before they died. Let' see …" Mumbled Rowena, "I can think of three items of Godric's that are missing, his shield, longbow, and a gauntlet from his suit of armour. All of my belongings are accounted for … except … my wand, I lent it to Markus Ollivander about five hundred years ago to display in his shop. There are quite a number of runes carved into the shaft to aid me in some rather obscure and difficult spells. I do hope it hasn't become a horcrux, it's quite unique.

"The current Mr. Ollivander is missing and presumably has been kidnapped by Voldemort, his wand shop is boarded up. We should retrieve the wand for safe keeping and bring it back here. Do you have any idea where Godric's missing items might be?" Asked Harry.

"You should ask him" said Rowena as she turned to speak to the lordly lion, "Godric, this young fellow needs to know where your shield, bow and gauntlet are." She then turned back to Harry and said, "Now that you know there are two white Phoenixes, you might want to determine which one is to select the leader of your order."

"Merlin's Beard!" exclaimed Harry.

"No … Merlin's Phoenix more likely," said Rowena, "his name, by the way, is 'Caledfwlch', it's Welsh … and he gets very mad if you don't pronounce his name exactly right. Easier to call him Merlin, and much safer."

Hermione and Remus started walking over to Merlin, Godric and Salazar as did Harry. Merlin carried a staff in the same concept as Salazar, however, instead of a serpents head at the top there was a luminous silvery-white ball held in a spider web like grip. Merlin and his staff reminded Hermione of the image she had of Gandalf, the wizard in 'The Lord of the Rings' by J. R. R. Tolkien.

As they approached the famous wizards, Godric watched Harry very closely while Merlin split his concentration between Hermione and Harry. Merlin could sense something familiar connecting the pair and smiled at them while trying to remember back to a time long ago.

He realized that he shared a similar connection with his first wife for over five hundred amazing years until she was killed. Never since had he felt such a connection between two people. His next six wives he had loved dearly, but they never had the same tight bond as he had with his first wife. Unlike Godric, who had a school to mind when Merlin showed him how to make the change to a Phoenix permanent, Merlin was a flighty bird that followed its whims and fancies unless summoned.

Hermione interrupted Merlin's musings with the question, "Which one of us is supposed to select the next leader of The Order of the Phoenix." Merlin looked at her in confusion until Hermione said in clarification, "We are both white Phoenixes."

"You all gave Albus a wonderful cremation and memorial service … Godric and I were both there, I'm certain everyone heard us, though we kept out of sight." Responded Merlin. "Albus had asked me a while ago to scout around for someone to take over for him and if there was an actual battle currently going on then I would have spoken up sooner. There is no one person I would recommend, however, there is a group of three friends that combine strategy, power and intelligence. When you spoke up in the Headmistresses office, I left well enough alone and I have no reason to cause controversy now."

"Why don't you perch on Godric's shoulder, I want to take a close look at you to see if you have any markings so that others can tell the difference between us, then you can take a close look at me if you wish."

Hermione transformed into her white Phoenix and flashed onto Godric's shoulder. Harry, Merlin and Godric examined her closely and the only discernable attributes they could make out were here brown eyes until Harry spotted a slightly pink, diagonal streak across her chest. Hermione returned to human form while Merlin took her place on Godric's shoulder. Caledfwlch was pure white with no discernable markings, although his eyes were sky blue as were Merlin's. Caledfwlch returned to being Merlin. Soon they were all sitting around the table discussing various topics related to Animagus transformation until Salazar reached out and summoned the locket/horcrux that was on the table. The discussions soon abated to silence as Salazar examined the horcrux carefully. Harry was able to understand the revealing spells that Salazar enunciated in parseltongue although he didn't understand the results that Salazar got back.

"There are a few protection charms on this before you get to the actual soul fragment. Godric's sword would be up to the task of destroying this easily and safely as Rowena explained and that might be the best way. I could teach you how to recognize and remove the protections that are on this one, but there is nothing saying the next one will have the same protections." Said Salazar. One of the curses on this will burn you to a crisp slowly if you try to damage it, the other one will capture your memory into the soul fragment and then Obliviate you."

Until they stopped for supper, Salazar taught Harry and the others various revealing spells and showed them how to identify what was being revealed. Hermione and Luna voraciously took notes of everything Salazar said. Just before they broke for supper Salazar showed Harry how to remove the curses from the locket and the spell to destroy the horcrux. He didn't allow Harry to perform the spells inside Rowena's portrait, he recommended doing them outside and away from the castle in case something went wrong.

- - - - - - - -

As supper wound down, the six teens and Minerva were the only ones remaining in the Great Hall. Minerva asked Hermione what they were doing after the meal.

"Well," she said "Harry has a horcrux to destroy, Salazar recommended doing it outside the castle …"

"Salazar, Salazar … pray tell where did you find him?" interrupted Minerva. The other teens looked on to see how Hermione was going to explain it.

"You remember the five portraits in Rowena's … Common Room?" Minerva nodded and Hermione continued, "Well … Harry summoned Salazar to come out of his portrait using Parseltongue, then Salazar emerged from the portrait and conversed with Harry for a minute or two … again in Parseltongue, Rowena appeared completely shocked."

"I don't suppose you summoned any more founders that I might be interested to know about … maybe Helga Hufflepuff or Godric Gryffindor?"

"Actually … yes, Salazar summoned Godric and Merlin … something about the bond that formed or is forming between Harry and me. Apparently it is as strong as, or stronger than any wedding bond. Would you be able to explain that and the implications to us … assuming there is something we should know?"

"Have you and Harry talked about marriage or a wedding?" asked Minerva.

"Not exactly," Hermione drawled out, while trying to think of what to tell the Professor. "I … overheard … well, to be exact … My dad was grilling Harry in one of those 'What are your intentions with my daughter' conversations and I was peeking through Harry's mind at the time because I could sense that he was very scared and nervous … he asked my father for permission to ask me to marry him after graduation. When Harry's mind registered the okay he got from Dad, Harry's mood changed from nervous anxiety to blissful happiness. I got all caught up in it … I ran into the room and hugged them both."

"You weren't even in the same room with them? Did you have eye contact with Harry at the time?" Minerva was starting to become more interested in the details.

"No, I was in the kitchen talking with Mum … they were in the living room, around a couple of corners and well out of sight."

"I think we had better continue this later and in private, I have a few things to look up before I can give you a clear answer about the implications, and I will have more questions as well." Said Minerva as she got up to leave. "Good luck with the horcrux, do you want me or Poppy there … for any reason?"

"You are both welcome to come," replied Harry as Minerva got up and prepared to leave. "Oh … I have to see Professor Slughorn I think for some fast acting snake venom."

"You had best bring the antidote along as well," suggested Hermione. There was a brief pause as Minerva and Harry left.

"So … Harry hasn't actually asked you …to marry him yet?" Ginny asked Hermione in what appeared to be a normal, curious voice. She expected little more than a nod or shake of Hermione's head until Ginny heard a faint 'no'.

"Not with all the words … not yet … It's only a matter of time and timing." She sighed. "Anyway, we need to spend some time together … and he did say to Dad that he would ask at the end of the school year, besides when school starts, we'll try to appear to be 'just friends' like we have been for years. We have our own Common Room for getting cozy in private. Hopefully the junior Death Eaters won't pick up on our new status.

"We could do some boyfriend swapping every few weeks to keep them confused," suggested Ginny with a sneaky grin. "Of course, we'd need Harry's and Neville's permission."

"No thanks Ginny, but thanks for the offer," Hermione said in a slightly sarcastic tone, "I'll take my chances, Harry has just left Slughorn, we might as well head outside." Hermione said as she hefted Godric's sword that Harry had left behind hidden under a disillusionment charm.

"What are you carrying that's so heavy?" inquired Ginny as she watched Hermione hold something invisible that was making an impression across her stomach. Hermione blinked her eyes and appeared to concentrate for a moment and the sword became visible. Ginny gasped when she saw it and asked rhetorically, "I've never held a sword … that's the one Harry had in the Chamber of Secrets isn't it? May I?"

After a moments consideration, Hermione changed her hold to only the scabbard and positioned the grip in front of Ginny, stating: "It's sharp as a razor, be careful where you swing it.

Ginny quickly inspected the grip before taking it with both hands and slowly pulling it out of it's' scabbard and pointing it straight up to inspect the blade. "It's lighter than I thought it would be."

"There are several charms on it including one to make it lighter and another to keep it sharp." Said Hermione, "Do not give it to Luna or anyone who isn't a Gryffindor. It will attack anyone that's not a Gryffindor and appears to be taking it." Hermione looked at Luna and she nodded as if she already knew not to handle it. The five teens slowly made their way to the front doors, arriving almost even with an out of breath Harry.

As the teens were making their way down the front steps of the castle Poppy and Minerva came through the main doors following them. They made their way to a stone pedestal in the middle of the turnaround that the Thestral drawn carriages used and Harry placed the locket on it. Harry had no idea what the definition of a safe distance was so he had everyone stand back about five meters. Harry removed the two jinxes that were on the locket then checked it to be sure they were gone using the parseltongue spells that Salazar had taught him. The next step was the tricky one, he had to undo the horcrux spell that bound the soul fragment to the locked and destroy the soul fragment as soon as it became free. If he didn't do it exactly right, the soul fragment could bond with him since he was the closest to it, and a natural container for a soul. Hermione could sense his nervousness at this point and sent her suggestion that he use the sword and snake venom since it might be safer.

Harry considered his options, there was after all no rush, he didn't have to do it right now. In the end he went with the spell, feeling that this was probably as safe as it was ever going to get to attempt it and he would at least have practice with it if he was forced to use it in the future. The charm to release the soul fragment went smoothly enough, however his first try to destroy it failed when he was too slow. He had to dodge and block the souls attempt to enter his body until his third attempt to destroy it succeeded. There was a dazzling light show and explosion when the soul fragment detonated. Harry was supposed to be at least 2 meters away when he destroyed it to avoid being caught in the blast and give him time and space to put up a shield.

Harry, as usual, woke up several hours later in his favourite hospital wing bed, with a concussion being the only lasting damage. Hermione and Madam Pomfrey had healed his minor cuts and bruises that he suffered when he got the concussion after landing several meters away from the explosion. Hermione was furiously pacing back and forth beside Harry's bed muttering under her breath that if he ever woke up she would kill him herself.

Harry, after he did wake up, managed to keep his eyes mostly closed and a smile off his face as he watched and listened to Hermione call him everything from careless to idiotic and a stupid moron before threatening to kill him. Then Hermione made the mistake of crying, "Why me? … why do I have to be in love with him? … these stupid stunts are going to be the death of me."

She was quiet for a few seconds when Harry responded, "I love you too, but why does my head feel like it was hit with two bludgers … repeatedly?" Moments later Hermione yelled for Madam Pomfrey as she leaned over Harry and kissed him gently on the lips then watched his eyes slowly open and try to focus without his glasses.

"Ohhhh … now I know what you're feeling." Hermione said, "I'll try to have some sympathy for you if you tell me you learned something from that experience."

Poppy bustled up to the bed with a large tumbler of some pinkish liquid that was smoking over the rim. She ran her wand up and down Harry, muttering spells under her breath before saying, "Drink this and you'll need to stay here until morning. Miss Granger, you can use the next bed over if you feel you must, but he needs to sleep. Any monkey business and I'll petrify both of you, do you understand?"

"Yes Ma'am, no monkey business."

"That potion should knock him out in a minute, so say good night quickly, then off to the other bed." Said Poppy.

Moments after Poppy left Harry was in a dreamless sleep. Ron and the other teens came to check on Harry and Hermione explained all she could, and they would all get together in the morning. Neville gave Hermione the locket and told her it had been checked out by Salazar himself and was now safe. Harry had removed all the jinxes and the soul fragment was dead and gone.

Wed July 09 1997

- - - - - - - -

Thurs July 10 1997

The next morning after breakfast Hermione started them all learning Legilimency while Harry went to help Professor Slughorn with the various potions that Poppy had requested as well as a few he was making for class demonstrations in the coming year. In the process of bottling various potions Harry received an overview of the ones he had not yet learned. The two that interested Harry the most were the Felix Felicis that was still in progress and the male contraceptive potion that Poppy had somehow found a recipe for. Shortly before noon Harry volunteered to take all the bottled potions up to the Hospital Wing to Madam Pomfrey. In the meantime Harry had talked Horace out of six small bottles of Felix that he would be able to collect mid way through September.

- - - - - - - -

Hermione, in the meantime, was able to teach the others the basics of Legilimency and, using what she had read previously in the Occlumency text was able to keep the others out of her mind whenever she had the inclination. Apparently it was just Harry that could get into her mind anytime, though he seldom did and almost never without her permission, well almost never.

At noon when they all met for lunch in the Great Hall Harry whispered to Hermione," I have several vials of 'the potion'." Hermione smiled back at him and nodded her head approvingly, but he could sense several different emotions making their way through her mind. Happiness and relief were two he could relate to easily, but there was still concern and a little fear in her mind. Exactly what she was afraid of he couldn't be sure unless she told him or he entered her mind, and he wasn't about to do that. They would have to talk … later.

After lunch the teens all learned Occlumency and practiced their Legilimency trying to break through the others Occlumency shields. Some did better than others, however it was something they could practice in pairs for the most part. Harry and Hermione found they could keep the other four out quite easily though it was impossible to keep each other out. In one of Hermione's attempts to block out Harry, Harry was able to get a glimpse of her fear about the potion and it gave him something to think about.

- - - - - - - -

Wed July 30 1997

Over the next two weeks Harry found out that Dudley and Vernon had their days in court. In what Harry thought was fitting compensation; Dudley was sent to St. Brutus's Secure Centre for incurably Criminal Boys for two full years and would never be allowed to be a boxer or fighter of any sort … ever. Harry and most of the kids that Dudley and his Gang had beaten up, and their parents as well as school teachers, testified against him to show that he had been out of control for years. That contributed to a further two years of Probation after he was let out of St. Brutus's. Vernon was given two years probation for knocking Harry out and although Harry could have brought many more examples out in court he didn't want the attention or the press coverage that it might create. Vernon was fired from his job at Grunnings and Petunia wouldn't allow him back in the house or her life. Vernon's company car of course was taken back by Grunnings and that left Vernon with no house, no wife, no car, out on the street with a trunk full of clothes and a very arrogant attitude that he had to control lest he end up back in jail.

Petunia had become much nicer to Harry over the last few weeks, though Harry wasn't certain if she had a motive. He wanted Petunia out of the house on Privet Drive following his seventeenth birthday since he was fairly certain that there would be a Death Eater attack once the wards and protections had fallen. Harry sent Petunia on a cruise for the month of August as well he gave her a few days in a hotel near her port of departure in the last few days of July. She knew he was going to move the contents of the house before she returned because he felt she would be in danger if she remained there, so she would be living somewhere new when she returned.

As Remus and Tonks were packing up Petunias possessions and owl tapped on the window. Remus flicked his wand and the window disappeared to allow the owl in. The message turned out to be advising Harry that he was being charged with many violations of underage use of magic as well as violations of the statute of secrecy for using magic in front of muggles over the last few hours. It also further advised Harry to remain there as Aurors would be arriving soon to take him into custody and snap his wand. This note was signed by none other that Delores Jane Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister for Magic. Tonks immediately contacted Gawain Robards, her boss, and Head of the Auror Department indicating that she would need his help as she and her boy friend were expecting to be attacked imminently at Harry Potters residence.


	28. Chapter 28 The Toad Lady

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the first 6 books in the Harry Potter series by J K Rowling belong to the aforementioned J K Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

A/N:-) What was the last paragraph is now several paragraphs. This upgrade is courtesy of 'the scribbler'. The changes are in **BOLD & underlined**. And should be considered 'R' rated

Look for thescribblers story - Vox Corporis: Rebirth 

**(28a) - The Toad Lady**

Soon there were three soft pops just outside the wards beyond Mrs. Figg's house. By the cut of their robes it was apparent that two wizards and a witch appeared dressed in unmarked black cloaks with their hoods up so they couldn't be identified. They started walking towards number four as Arabella made a floo call to Minerva.

Meanwhile:

Gawain rustled up four Aurors that were available and started cursing because he couldn't find Dawlish and Savage who should have been in the ready room. The five apparated to the other end of Privet Drive outside the wards where they were joined moments later in a flash of white light, by Kingsley Shackelbolt, Minerva and four other Order members as well as a white Phoenix. Minerva had sent Fawkes to bring Harry and Hermione to Hogwarts, Fawkes was to make sure Harry remained at Hogwarts while Hermione flashed the six Order members to a place that just happened to be right beside Gawain and his Aurors.

Gawain had spotted the three cloaked figures at the other end of Privet Drive, making their way towards the house when he heard the faint pop. He turned around to find six order members including Mad-Eye Moody and a white Phoenix. "We have to get Tonks, her boyfriend and anyone else out of that house." Gawain told Mad-eye and Minerva. Immediately the white Phoenix flashed and was gone. Ten seconds later Tonks and Remus flashed in between Gawain and the Order members. Tonks announced that they were the only ones in the house.

One of the three cloaked figures separated and made to go around the house when Minerva suggested they all form a line quickly and the white Phoenix would flash them in right behind the Death Eaters to stun them before they knew what happened. While they were forming the line, two of the presumed Death Eaters started blasting away at the front door with hexes, destroying the entranceway and several adjacent windows. Gawain had them wait until the third DE was out of sight behind the house then they flashed in and stunned the two in front of the house. Gawain left Moody, Shacklebolt, Tonks and the other Order Members guarding the DE's in front and asked the white Phoenix to take him and the Aurors to the back. Dawlish, the third cloaked figure, saw the flash reflected in a window and was turning when five stunners dropped him.

Moody was repairing the front of the house while the others levitated the two bodies and walked them around to the back. Tonks had summoned the two wands from the cloaked figures in front and snapped them. When Tonks made her way to the back she summoned Dawlish's wand and snapped it too. Tonks was sure the three were Savage, Dawlish and Umbridge, but no one had yet lifted their hoods to identify them. Tonks knew that at the very least, if there was no other punishment, it would be embarrassing for them to have to replace their wands.

Once they were identified, Gawain realized he really didn't want to know. Tonks handed over their broken wands, Gawain smiled at her and nodded his head as if to say well done. Gawain ordered that their hoods be put back on and, using a Security Portkey, sent them to a holding cell to be charged with two attempted murders, Muggle property damage, violations of the Statute of Secrecy and being Death Eaters. He figured Umbridge could probably slither her way out of those charges although he hoped something might stick if he laid it on thick enough. He then put in a call to the Obliviator squad to clean up any Muggle memories. Gawain thanked the Order members and the white Phoenix, Hermione didn't dare change back to herself and risk being caught as an unregistered Animagus. Gawain asked Minerva if the Phoenix had a name?

Minerva responded, "His name is 'Caledfwlch', and he was Merlin's Phoenix." Although that was a lie, she could at least prove that Merlin had or was a white Phoenix and the name was correct even though she had mispronounced it.

The Phoenix looked at Minerva and produced a squawk of obvious chastisement before turning its back to her. "Apparently I've made the grievous sin of mispronouncing his name." responded Minerva as Gawain looked on in astonishment. "Welsh was never my best language, I'm sorry Merlin." The large white bird turned to face Minerva and bobbed its head in acknowledgement.

Hermione's Phoenix, now believed by some to be Merlin's Phoenix eventually delivered everyone outside the wards so they could apparate away unhindered. Tonks and Remus stayed at the house to finish packing up. Hermione delivered all the order members back to the Headmistress's office in Hogwarts and from there they floo'd away leaving Minerva, Harry and Hermione once she returned to her human form.

"Mr. Potter, Miss Granger … you and your group should consider naming your Animagus forms to allow us all to be clear in our minds who and what we are talking about. It should be something that doesn't tie back to your real names. Miss Granger, it would be convenient to call you 'Caledfwlch' allowing your presence in situations like today, to be more easily explained. Should Merlin's white Phoenix show up we can simply call him Merlin as the man no longer exists outside Rowena's portrait. It will also make your presence in transporting Mr. Potter around, somewhat explainable. I'll talk to Rowena and Merlin to make sure they are agreeable and the two of you don't show up together."

"I am still working on getting Rowena's wand out of Ollivander's Wand Shoppe, it may take a while since I'm trying to reclaim it as a Hogwarts artefact. Have you started looking for a new home for your Aunt, Harry?" asked Minerva and Harry shook his head to indicate no.

- - - - - - - -

Wed July 30 1997

Harry and Hermione arrived home in Oxford in the late afternoon, before Hermione's parents had even finished work for the day, in fact her parents would be running late due to several emergencies. They flashed into Hermione's bedroom as was normal and made their way to the living room sofa without saying anything. Harry seemed to be looking anywhere else but at Hermione since she returned from Privet Drive.

Hermione spoke first asking, "Something is bothering you, something about today, you've hardly said anything since I brought everyone back to Hogwarts and your emotions are completely jumbled … talk to me Harry … tell me what's bothering you."

Harry levitated Hermione up and sat her on his lap, then wrapped his arms around her holding her close and eye to eye before answering in a whisper, "You and Minerva explained everything that happened, and I'm more than pleased that it all turned out so well. Apparating everyone through the wards like that was an inspiration that no one expected."

"I was stuck in Hogwarts, and as it turned out, it was for the best, but I was so worried about you … so worried … I was going completely spare. The only thing that kept me here was Fawkes or I'd have run out through the gates and apparated to you in an instant."

"I should have realized. We haven't been apart at all over the last month have we?" she said rhetorically as she slipped her head past his to be cheek to cheek and hugged him tighter, "I missed having a sense of your feelings in the back of my mind, it was actually distracting to not have you there."

The sound of her voice and her closeness was helping and allowing him to sort himself out. "A month ago I would have fought back at having someone in my head, though before then it was usually Snape or Voldemort. Now I too miss the comfort of your presence, you have an amazing calming effect on me." Harry sighed and took a deep breath enjoying her scent and melting between her and the sofa.

Hermione thought her next question would be an easy one when she asked, "Harry … what would you like for your birthday tomorrow?"

His emotions that had quieted down during the last conversation rose in frantic fear and confusion again. He had been taking his potion regularly and since he was at Hogwarts today he had Poppy check on the results of the potion to confirm that all was good, he was 'safe'. He hadn't told her yet, he hadn't made the opportunity or had the courage. All he could think of until today was taking the next step in their relationship, the ultimate bonding of their love. He was scared, not of making love to her, but of what he would feel after. He had to say something, so he spoke. "Hermione … all I want for my birthday is you." He could immediately sense her boost in happiness as well as a spike of concern at which point he realized that what he said could have more than one interpretation. "We need to talk … my mind is in turmoil and I don't want to make a mistake."

"I don't want you to make a mistake either," she responded in a soft voice, "I don't want us to make a mistake. I couldn't possibly have been happier these last few weeks being with you."

"Good, perhaps that eases my concerns … now let me finish and don't jump to any conclusions. What I'm about to say may not be what you expect." Said Harry.

"Not what I expect … now I'm really interested … please continue." She said.

"I saw Madam Pomfrey today … while I was waiting … and worrying. She told me that the potion was working properly and everything is good."

"That's wonderful," Hermione replied.

"Yes … and no … I admit that during the last few weeks I've been anxiously anticipating this day … and … now that it's here … I'm not so sure. Don't misunderstand … half of me wants nothing more than to make love to you right here and right now … the other half of me can't justify doing it simply because it's now safe. That half wants to wait for a more … I don't know … appropriate time … whatever that means. It doesn't necessarily mean that I want to wait until we get married, but I think that, for now, I would prefer to wait if that's alright with you?" Harry couldn't see her face, but he could feel her elation building as he clarified his feelings, he knew he was suggesting the right thing.

"Oh Harry, you're right, I certainly wasn't expecting that," she said as she held him tighter. "I was quite prepared to go along with you, and I'm sure it would have been fantastic … as far as I'm concerned you deserve all the happiness you can get … and I agree that it feels right to wait … and that's what we'll do." As she spoke she could feel the concern and confusion dissipate from his mind. They couldn't very well hug each other tighter without causing pain so Harry rotated a bit, sliding down the back of the sofa while stretching out. Hermione followed him remaining firmly attached on top of him.

It seemed like only seconds went by when they heard the unmistakable sound of Dan clearing his throat followed closely by Emma snickering.

Neither teen felt they were being chastised so they made no effort to break apart … until Emma spoke, "Alright you two, time out, sit up."

"Yes Mum," Hermione whined, in acknowledgement as she and Harry swung their legs over the edge of the sofa and helped each other to sit up.

"You two look quite pleased with yourselves, what mischief have you been up to today?" asked Emma. "And can I trust you two to be home alone?"

"Yes," said Hermione with a conviction in her voice that she only gave when restating irrevocable facts from a reliable text book. Her parents' looks and attitude immediately changed from mildly humorous to concern. "We've just been talking over some things that happened today and we came to a consensus … so, yes you can trust us to be home alone … together."

Dan and Emma looked at each other while considering Hermione's statement before Emma asked, "Would you care to confirm that we are talking about the same thing?"

The teens took turns explaining their discussion of what seemed a few moments ago, which actually was about an hour ago. The teens started snickering while her parents slowly came to terms with what they had heard. "What do you two have planned for tomorrow." Asked Emma.

"I'd like to sleep in," said Harry.

"Then after lunch we might go to The Burrow." Said Hermione

"Then Gringotts," added Harry, "And later I'll take you all out to supper … You guys select the place, money is NO problem, I'm paying, NO arguments! Would you mind if a few of our school friends came along with us?"

"The four of us plus our four good friends …" said Hermione

"and Fred, George, Molly and Arthur would make a dozen." Added Harry. "If you don't mind being outnumbered with wizards and witches?"

"Don't forget Remus and Tonks … I think Remus would be upset if you didn't include him." Added Hermione.

"We'd love to see your friends again," said Emma and Dan nodded in agreement then asked, "They wouldn't turn us into frogs … would they?"

"Some of them might, given the chance … but we should be able to turn you back without too much trouble. Don't go giving Fred and George any ideas and don't eat or drink anything they give you."

"Those are the two with the joke shop … right?" asked Dan.

"Yep, a couple of real jokers they are," said Harry, "Hey, I think I've got a canary cream and some other samples upstairs. They gave me an assortment bag last week. I'll be back in a minute." Once Harry's back was to her, Hermione shook her head sadly from side to side hoping he wasn't actually going to eat any of those things. Harry, in the mean time, rushed upstairs to his room and rummaged through the dresser for the bag of samples before remembering they were in his trunk. When he arrived in the living room again he spread the contents of the bag out on the coffee table while Hermione began explaining them to her parents.

There appeared to be one or two of everything, but Hermione recognized only the older ones. The twins had been very creative lately. There were Nosebleed Nougats, Puking Pastilles, a Canary Cream, two portable swamps, a Giant Catherine wheel and several rockets that she recognized. Harry pointed out a red Dragons Breath as he popped it in his mouth. There were black, green and silver ones of the same shape. Several seconds after he swallowed it he roared like a Chinese Fireball while letting out a blast of flame that looked threatening enough to ignite the living room.

"Harry!" Hermione shrieked, "You could have burned the house down!"

"No way," he replied, "George told me that there's no heat in that flame so it can't burn anything or start a fire, He did warn me not to breathe the flame in as it had a horrid taste."

"Are these owl treats Harry?"

"No … Fred calls them 'Owl Tweets', they work like the Canary Creams except you turn into an owl."

Hermione shook her head in exasperation, there were still at least twenty items she didn't recognize on the table. "I'm going to have to pay more attention to their new products so I can identify them," she murmured to herself.

Harry smiled, then asked, "Having trouble keeping up with the twins dear?"

"McGonagall should have them teaching Potions if they can create all of this." Said Hermione.

"McGonagall is probably scared they would be able to sell their stuff right inside the school." Answered Harry.

"Too true, however, they'd be there to cleanup the mess."

Harry ate an Owl Tweet to show Dan the effect before Dan tried one, then Emma ate the only Canary Cream. Nobody tried the Nosebleed Nougats or Puking Pastilles and Hermione was quite happy to not chance any of the twins confections.

Harry helped Emma with the supper preparations while Dan and Hermione talked in the living room. During the meal they decided on a suitable place for Harry's birthday supper and Dan made the reservations. One of their patients, over the years, kept mentioning an Indian Restaurant that he liked very much. Mr. Samuels had been in yesterday and Dan had thought to get the name and location from him. It was more expensive and elegant than most others and usually busy but not full. The food was superb and the service excellent and they had semi-private rooms for family groups.

Later that evening Harry sent the invitations out via their rings except for Remus and Tonks, he used Fawkes to deliver the hastily scribbled invitation. He ended up inviting Minerva and that made fifteen, since Bill and Fleur were staying at The Burrow he also invited them. Dan called the restaurant again and arranged for more space.

The responses came back, by way of their rings through the evening hours before Harry and Hermione went off to bed. To maintain some sense of propriety in the house the two teens went to their separate bedrooms initially, once the doors were locked and the silencing charms applied Hermione apparated over to Harry's room where they always spent the night.

Tonight they didn't simply curl up together and drift off to sleep as was their normal practice. Harry, for as long as he could remember had always stayed up past midnight to wish himself a happy birthday and tonight Hermione was very pleased to be there with him. This was going to be the big one-seven for Harry and they were both excited about Harry coming of age. **There were things that would change once he was seventeen...he could apparate; he could vote...he could marry..**

They started off talking, progressed to snogging and cuddling then before midnight came they began exploring each other thoroughly.

**At first, **Hermione** was hesitant. Yes, they had touched each other lots of times before, but this was somehow different. She **found that fondling Harry** was really a tremendous turn-on. Much more so than before. It made her feel like a woman. Why am I so horny tonight? is it just that he's going to be of age? Hermione dismissed the thought. She was turned on by Harry often and thought nothing more if it than how pleasant it was to be near him .**

**Side by side with Hermione, the two of them** enjoyed letting **their **hand**s roam. Harry lifted her nightgown so that he could touch her all over. At first, his hands explored the back of her legs and her bottom. Harry's interest in repeating their lovemaking was growing with every moment. When he felt the soft silkiness of her knickers, his erection throbbed in Hermione's hands.**

**Hermione, with an insistence that surprised Harry, brought his hand away from her bottom and to the front of her knickers. Harry felt the lace edge and he traced it with his fingers. Not content with his touch, she pushed his hand down the front of her knickers and between her legs. The moment that his fingers made contact with her core, she groaned, loud and long. She couldn't lie...she loved Harry and wanted to be his wife and lover.**

**As the clock threatened midnight,** they came to a point where, in their passion, they were making enough noise to drown out the midnight chimes of the Grandfather clock in the living room and moments after the chimes they both came together. Exhausted, they ignored the warm slippery mess they both had a hand in creating. They smiled at each other and Hermione whispered 'Happy Birthday Harry' as they both drifted off to a blissful sleep.

A/N :-) I am going away soon and won't be back for three to four weeks and the internet access is questionable. I have posted all my 'spare' chapters of this story – hopefully I will have more when I return. The reason I haven't been furiously writing on this story is because another story idea migrated from the back of my mind to the front, and I haven't been able to shake it. There may be a double bonus on my return.


	29. Chapter 29 Birthday Boy

Pursuant to the _Berne__ Convention Implementation Act of 1988 _and the _Digital Millennium Copywrite Act of 1998_, this work is copywrited 2007 with all rights expressly reserved by its author unless explicitly granted. No portion may be reproduced in any fashion without the express written and notarized permission of the author.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. All characters are creations of Joanne K Rowling, © 2007, to whom I am deeply indebted.

Standard Disclaimer: This story may contain sexually graphic and explicit material and it is not suitable for minors. If you are a minor, please leave now, as it is illegal for you to be here. If it is illegal for you to read or view sexually explicit material in the community you view such material, please leave now. This story and characters are purely fictional and any resemblance to events or persons (living or dead) is purely coincidental. If you are offended by sexually explicit stories, please read no further. _These stories are just that, stories, and may or may not reflect the opinions of the author. _

A/N: I'm squeezing this chapter in before I leave – pun intended. I was convinced by 'the scribbler' that the above disclaimer was necessary as much as I abhor the idea. The scribbler also Beta'd this chapter, my thanks to him. – read on.

****

**(29) Birthday Boy**

In the morning they awoke to a gooey, sticky, crusty feeling that didn't take long to sort out. A couple of quick cleaning spells and the mess was taken care of; allowing them to cuddle in comfort. Harry managed to change positions and soon had Hermione's bum spooned into his crotch. His member, growing fully hard as it warmly nestled between her southern cheeks, the hesitancy of last night was gone. Harry had moved enough of her hair aside to nibble and kiss the back of her neck, making his way around to her jaw and ear lobe. His left hand, during the nibbling, made its way around her and was cupping a breast while his thumb and forefinger worked on the nipple. Hermione was squeezing her other breast and nipple while trying to frustrate Harry's attempt to extricate her nightgown from between her legs. The attempt at frustration didn't last long as Hermione's excitement grew. Her breathing became faster, her heart pounding in her chest under Harry's hand … her desire to have his hand, his fingers, buried deep in her sex took over, she opened her legs as best she could in her sideways position and guided his hand into her wet core, showing him what she needed, guiding his fingers. As she wiggled and moaned she also managed to squeeze her butt cheeks around his throbbing member causing him to groan, thrust and moan in response.

While Harry was fingering her sex his other hand was holding her tight to his chest. They both stretched, wiggled, arched and jerked into a sexual climax like neither of them had experienced before. Hermione could feel his initial jet of release through her clenching of his organ, he exclaimed her name. The sensation of his spurt and the loving way he groaned after saying her name took her over the edge of her mindless ecstasy, she screamed "Harrrrryyyyyyyyy" as her legs slammed tight together trapping his hand, she then fell into the glorious abyss of completion.

Harry held on to her lovingly as they both drifted back to sleep, one hand still trapped in her sex. After regaining consciousness and releasing Harry's hand, they once again cleaned their play area before making their way to the showers.

While making an early lunch both their rings became warm indicating a message. The message was from Ron, Bill and Fleur had to cancel, however, Fred and George wanted to bring Alicia and Angelina. Ron also mentioned that his dad had said that Harry's apparition paperwork had been processed, so Harry could now apparate if he wanted.

Hermione replied to the message for Harry who was busy making lunch. Hermione couldn't understand why Harry insisted on making the lunch and not letting her help until she realized he was using magic. He had cauldrons as well as frying pans, levitating them above magical fires that were themselves hovering in mid air. It was like a three ring circus and Harry was having a blast. Ingredients were measuring themselves and mixing then making their way to a pan or cauldron. Harry's hands and fingers appeared to be directing traffic on a busy street corner, not cars and trucks, but boxes, bags and measuring cups were floating by and being mixed into one vessel or another.

"Maybe I should invite Ron over, it looks like you're making way too much for the two of us?" suggested Hermione.

"Sure," said Harry, "Molly and Ginny too if you want."

- - - - - - - -

After lunch, the Weasley crew departed, except for Ron, and after cleaning up the kitchen, the trio apparated to Diagon Alley. Upon entering Gringotts, Griphook spotted Harry and showed the trio into Ragnok's office, where they waited patiently for Ragnok to return.

"Wow, Harry … the Goblins do treat you right, don't they!" Ron stated in an exuberant voice.

"Are you feeling up to a ride down to the Potter family vault dear?" Asked Harry, who nodded towards Ron while looking at Hermione.

"I guess I'd better," she replied, "I'll need to find out what I'm in for."

"You're coming too aren't you Ron?"

"Wouldn't miss the ride for anything." Said Ron, Do you have any idea what's in there?"

"I have a listing of the contents and an estimated value" Said Harry. "It's kind of a silly amount, really, just act surprised when you see it … okay?" Hermione hid the smile on her face and forced herself to suppress the laughter that was determined to escape. She knew, that Ron knew, Harry was rich, but she also knew that Ron had no idea how big that pile of gold could be.

"A list and actually seeing it all in one place could be very different", Continued Harry. Ron nodded his head in agreement and they heard Ragnok's rap on the door before he entered.

"Ah, Miss Granger, good day, and Mr. Potter, a happy birthday to you … Oh … and another young man … may I hazard a guess that you are … Mr. Ronald Weasley?"

"Yes Sir," replied Ron, "and a good day to you sir."

"Thank you … I have been making sure that I have all the papers here for your signatures, Mr Potter. Some of them have to be signed in blood. If you prefer to have your barrister examine the documents first, that is quite understandable although I can assure you I'm not trying to deceive you", Stated Ragnok. "I will explain everything as we go, please ask questions if anything is not clear."

"I'm sure we'll have some questions so let's get started", responded Hermione.

Ragnok proceeded, one document at a time. Harry removed the Dursleys' names from the trust vault and added Ron's name, then gave him a key. Next, Harry gained access to the Potter family vault and a storage vault where the other inventory items were kept. While they were adding Hermione's name to the Potter vaults, Fawkes flashed in and landed on Hermione's shoulder startling; Ragnok and to some degree, Ron. Fawkes proceeded to looked Harry in the eyes for a few moments telling him that Dumbledore's portrait was finally awake then changed his stare to Ragnok. Ragnok was caught by surprise as Fawkes relayed a message from Dumbledore, first to Ragnok, then to Harry who quickly gave Hermione a hand signal to look into his mind for the same message.

"There is some history here Mr Potter …" said Ragnok, "You are aware I'm sure that your Grandfather was a Gryffindor Heir and the last Potter to have the title of Lord Gryffindor?"

"Please call me Harry, sir." Interrupted Harry, "And no … I was not aware of that."

"I'm surprised Dumbledore and others didn't tell you more of your family history. Anyway, Harry … as I was saying, In your family line, the first born sons alternated first names between James and Harold or Harry. Your grandfather was not a first born son, however, he carried on the naming tradition with James, your father, and thus you are Harry. As the last Potter of his generation, when your grandfather died, the title and rights of the mantel of Lord Gryffindor should have been passed on to your father. You and your parents were in hiding at the time, so it never happened. A document from your father transferred the title to the next closest blood relative to Godric Gryffindor … and that was Albus Dumbledore. Albus had no one to pass it on to when he died other than Aberforth, who didn't want it; therefore it reverts back to you. That is, if you're willing to accept it, Harry. The title of Lord Gryffindor is more of a Muggle honorarium dating from the time of King Arthur. Perhaps, if Florien Fortescue ever shows up again, he might be able to explain the history in more detail. You will find that there has always been a seat reserved on the Wizengamot for Lord Gryffindor. Dumbledore didn't require the Gryffindor seat as he already had his own, his power in the Wizengamot, however, was enhanced with the extra votes he was able to wield from the Gryffindor and Potter seats. Yes, your family also has a hereditary seat and votes on the Wizengamot."

"Let us finish off the current business, and we'll be ready to proceed with Dumbledore's will in a few days."

They finally made it through the paperwork. Goblins, it turns out, are very precise in their paperwork, and nothing is left to chance. Harry was almost ready to put a silencing charm on Hermione what with all the questions she was asking. He did however resist the temptation. The ordeal dragged on for nearly four hours. Harry and Ron were thoroughly befuddled at the end; fortunately Hermione knew where every last Knut was when she was done questioning Ragnok.

The ride down to the three vaults; now that Gryffindor's vault was included with the two Potter vaults, was a pepper-up pill for everyone. Ron and Harry were exhilarated, while Hermione, who didn't like heights and roller coasters to begin with, was holding on to Harry for dear life; especially when they passed a clutch of Dragons, and even tighter when they passed the Chimeras and Manticores that were guarding the very low levels. It took some coaxing from Harry to even get Hermione to open her eyes once they had stopped.

They went first to the Gryffindor vault; to get it behind them. Griphook explained that the gold and artefacts could only be removed for specific purposes and there looked to be about two dozen cubic meters of galleons not including other monies and gold and silver bars as well.

Fortunately Harry and Hermione entered the vault first behind Griphook, while Ron stopped in the doorway, eyes fixed straight ahead and mouth open in utter disbelief. Since Harry's conversation with Ron's parents and Tonks about the hundred thousand Galleons, Ron had tried to imagine what that would look like, and that was as far as he had managed to stretch his imagination, there must be somewhere near a hundred times that much here he thought. As it turned out, Ron was still a little low in his estimate as it was closer to five hundred times as much once all the precious metals and gemstones were included with the Galleons, Sickles and Knuts. As they were about to leave the Gryffindor vault, Griphook spoke up, "Mr. Potter, you are allowed up to one thousand galleons in each calendar month from this vault for personal use while you maintain the title of Lord Gryffindor. Lady Gryffindor," Griphook looked directly at Hermione, "has an equal allowance available to her."

"I'm not married to Harry." Hermione stated in a curious tone of voice, though not quite certain why she needed to state the fact. She knew Goblin laws differed somewhat from Wizard laws, but she hadn't any reason yet to look into the differences. Ron and Harry both looked at her, Ron, with a look of shock and Harry looking confused.

"Our laws recognize magical bonding when it doesn't conflict with any Wizard or Muggle marriage rituals", said Griphook.

"Magical bonding," repeated Harry, "Salazar mentioned something about that … he even woke up Godric and Merlin because of it."

"I have no doubt … few if any in the Wizarding world would even remember, let alone recognize the signs … it is so rare amongst your people, though quite normal amongst Elves and Goblins", responded Griphook.

"Are you saying that, as far as Gringotts Bank is concerned we are … the same as a married couple?" asked Hermione.

"Precisely," replied Griphook, "until one or both of you were to actually be silly enough to marry someone else."

"I have to admit that marrying someone else would not feel right," said Harry.

Ron pretended to gag while covering his mouth and Hermione, blushing slightly and beamed a brilliant smile at Harry. Hermione was getting more used to the idea that she was actually going to be the bride and not simply a spectator at Harry's wedding or worse a bridesmaid.

After looking around Godric's vault for anything of interest; they made their way to another vault a short distance away - the Potter Family storage vault - and then next door to the vault with all the Potter gold. Godric's vault actually had more gold in it, about double what was in the Potter vault. Hermione showed little interest in the gold while Harry teased Ron about wanting to roll around in it and be buried under it. Harry, being used to getting along with next to nothing most of his life, also had little interest in the gold, other than noting the totals. After quickly looking through the vaults for anything useful, they returned to the cart and had another wild ride back to the surface with an extra two thousand galleons between them. Hermione fared little better on this trip and made it difficult getting out of the cart as she wouldn't let go of Harry until she had solid stone under foot.

After a few final details were taken care of in Ragnok's office, and Harry changed some of his galleons into Muggle pounds, the trio made their way to the Burrow where they left Ron behind, and finally home, to Oxford.

Hermione insisted that Harry put on his new suit that she and her Mum picked out for him earlier in the week. Emma and Hermione hid themselves away until Harry was getting anxious about the time. When they appeared, Hermione was in her new dress and looking absolutely edible. Two twists of hair framed her face, the rest held in a bun at the back leaving her tantalizing neck bare and accessible for said nibbling. The neckline was low enough to be distracting, even though he was well acquainted with the tender morsels that were trying to peek out. Her poise; and the poses she struck, were the stuff from which wet dreams are made, Harry thought. Hermione could sense his feelings and see his outward reaction. She blushed profusely, wondering if she had gone too far, and yet, soaking up the moment and storing it away in her memories.

- - - - - - - -

HP birthday party

Not having been to the restaurant before, Hermione got the location from her Father and scouted the area yesterday for a suitable apparation point. When it was time to go, she knew exactly to which she wanted to apparate them. Everyone else that was attending had been given the address and directions from Kings Cross Station, since it was only a few blocks away. This was going to be interesting, Hermione thought, a mostly magical guest list in a completely Muggle Restaurant. Arthur would be asking questions even more quickly than they could answered; while Molly would be worried because of her twins and the amount of mischief that they could create.. Hermione also worried about Nymphadora and hoped that Remus would be able to talk her out of the pink hair, and while praying fervently that in protest, Tonks wouldn't choose green, blue or purple either.

Hermione went first; to check the apparition point and make sure the location was clear. Harry took the moment to slip Dan a huge wad of pound notes before Hermione returned. Hermione, in her Phoenix form, returned and apparated the other three to a secluded corner of an alley across from the restaurant. When they walked to the mouth of the alley, Harry held them back until Hermione recognized the oddly clothed foursome as Fred, George, Alicia and Angelina. The girls were dressed properly, it were the twins. Hermione noted that Fred and George were wearing muggle-styled suits of a sparkly pearlescent material that reminded Harry of an Antipodean Opaleye, a rare dragon he had seen a picture of in his Monster book of Monsters.

Harry relaxed his arm and as they reached the street. Once the two groups saw each other, waves were exchanged in greeting. Remus and Tonks could be seen half a block behind and by the time the Grangers were introduced, they formed a group of ten.

When they were shown to their table, they found Minerva McGonagall, the rest of the Weasleys, and Neville and Luna, seated at a long table in a curtained-off room. Molly was trying to calm Arthur down when the Grangers and group arrived; he appeared to have a hundred muggle questions that were burning holes in his mind. Dan sat next to Arthur in anticipation of his questions and so that Harry wouldn't be pestered all night.

Dan also felt a bit safer, because he and Emma were sitting between Arthur and Molly on one side with Harry and Hermione on the other. Dan was sure the twins wouldn't try any tricks right under their parents watchful eyes and he thought that just maybe, he'd be able to find out more about what was preoccupying the Weasely children.

"The food has already been ordered on the recommendations of one of our favourite patients," stated Dan, and as he looked at his watch he continued, "And now that we are all here, it should start arriving anytime." A minute later, the greeter from the front door came in to take their drink orders. It seemed that he purposefully took Harry's order last. He looked to be having fun explaining the refreshment menu to most of the group and not at all curious as to why they seemed ignorant of the soft drinks, beers and liquors on the menu.

After taking Harry's order, he whispered, "Congratulations and Happy Birthday Mr. Potter," and then in a normal voice said, "Your drinks and food will be here shortly." He then left quickly through a smaller curtain at the other end of the room before Harry could react to question him.

Hermione and Emma, sitting on either side of Harry, looked at him in surprise then Emma looked at Dan and spoke, "Did you say anything about a birthday party?"

Hermione asked Harry, "Do you know him?" By the time both Dan and Harry answered to the negative, all the witches and wizards hands were already on their wands, though not drawn.

Parvati and Padma, heads bowed, stepped through the small curtain that their Father had used moments ago. They weren't immediately recognized by everyone although Ginny and Hermione thought they looked familiar. When they raised their heads, they chanted, "Happy Seventeenth Birthday Harry!" and were immediately recognized by all but the parents and Tonks. The Patil twins marched up to Harry and gave him a quick kiss on each cheek. Parvati whispered to Hermione, "Is it okay to use a little magic in front of everyone?"

Tonks overheard the not so subtle whisper, pulled her wand and cast a silencing spell on the larger curtain separating them from the main Restaurant. Hermione looked at Tonks who responded, "As long as only those in this room, you and your parents can observe it. If it becomes a secrecy issue, there may be trouble."

"Not a problem," replied Parvati, "When I saw the names Granger and Potter on the reservation list I had you moved to this room for that reason." She slowly pulled her wand from her sleeve and pointed it at the same curtain, twitching it slightly. "The curtain now has a muggle repelling charm that will keep even our parents away from it."

Padma and then Parvati pointed their wands towards the small curtain and the ordered drinks started floating past it on their way to the table.

"We met two cousins of yours when we were walking through Surrey a few weeks ago. Did you hear anything about it?" Hermione asked Padma who was still standing beside her. Parvati was on the other side of Harry.

"Oh yes … they were very curious about the school again, it took a while, but we convinced them to leave it alone." Answered Padma. "They seemed to think that you two were …"

"Friends," Hermione interrupted, "Best friends." Harry put a hand in front of his mouth to cover a smile.

"Uh huh, we believe you … not!" said Parvati. Emma was listening to the conversation, between the three girls and becoming confused by the denial.

"We'll talk about this later," hissed Hermione.

The twin girls left, and a minute later, platters of food began floating through the small curtain towards the table. Dan and Emma had seen some magic, but this was as practical an application as they could readily comprehend.

The meal progressed, more food and drinks came and the empties floated away. Dan and Arthur were talking, trading questions and answers. Apparently Dan had struck a bargain of some sort. Harry and Emma could hear a lot of what Dan and Arthur were discussing, Emma was listening out of curiosity while Harry was praying that Dan wouldn't ask the right … or wrong questions. To Dan's credit, he knew how to ask questions, and Arthur was giving him an earful of information that Harry was very certain Hermione had evaded over the past years. Dan and Emma kept glancing around to Ron, Harry and their daughter as they absorbed more and more. Arthur was completely unaware of the delicate balance that was threatening to collapse around Harry and Hermione.

At last, when almost everyone thought they were finished, seventeen glasses of butterbeer came out followed by seventeen slices of birthday cake, each with a lit candle. After the first fifteen made their way to the seated guests, the Patil twins both came into the room to claim the spares and start the Happy Birthday song. After considering his wish, Harry had to go around the table and blow out all seventeen candles. Upon regaining his seat he turned to Hermione and looked her in the eyes for a moment before they kissed, his wish, granted, for now. Everyone applauded then started in on their cake and butterbeer.

Harry thought everything went off particularly well, part way through the meal Harry had realized by the reactions of Parvati and Dan that the menu selections had been changed from what Dan had ordered. When Dan was taking care of the tab with Mr. Patil, Harry and Hermione took Parvati and Padma aside to thank them for the wonderful time.

Knowing their affinity to gossip, Hermione made them promise not to spread rumours about Harry and her being a couple. Voldemort would stop at nothing to cause Harry pain, and if Voldemort knew he could reach Harry through Hermione or her parents, he would do it quicker than you could say Quidditch. The Patil twins, scared by the paranoid attitudes of both Harry and Hermione, quickly agreed and would not even tell Lavender, at least until they were at school. Hermione, in turn, promised that they would come back at least once before September first. The group left, returning to their homes in the same manner as they came.


	30. Chapter 30 Meeting Albus

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the first 6 books in the Harry Potter series by J K Rowling belong to the aforementioned J K Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

**(30) Meeting Albus**

Hermione's parents didn't bring up their conversations with Arthur Weasley that night and Harry, knowing that the morning would likely bring up many of the horrors of the past, got the balance of his birthday wish that night, snuggling up to Hermione, enjoying her warmth and reciprocating her feelings of love. Having overheard most of Arthur's answers to Dan's questions, Neither Harry nor Hermione could figure out why her parents allowed him to stay, they should have been scared to even be near him, let alone allowing him to still be part of their family.

- - - - - - - -

Friday Aug 1 1997

In an effort to put off the expected confrontation the teens waited until her parents had left for work before going down to make their breakfast. Harry disagreed about putting off the confrontation, but in the end went along with Hermione's hope that her parents would have more time to mellow to the dangers that Voldemort presented.

No sooner had they finished breakfast than an unexpected knock came at the back door. Harry and Hermione looked at each other, they had thrown on pyjamas and opted to eat first and get properly dressed later. Both their wands were still upstairs, not that that mattered much. Harry dashed upstairs to collect their wands while Hermione transformed into Caledfwlch, then flashed outside and flew high over the house to see who was at the back door. Hermione recognized their Headmistress, Remus and Tonks waiting at the back door, Caledfwlch dove amongst several trees at the properties edge. The three adults had turned around at the sound of the great bird plunging through the air to see a small flash of light in the trees beyond the pool and garden. A short minute later the back door latch clicked and the door opened, Harry stood there with a smile, in a grey Dudley size sweatshirt and baggy worn blue jeans that were being held up by faded red suspenders.

Hermione could be heard from inside somewhere yelling, "I'll be there in a minute dear, let them in."

Harry stood aside and motioned them in with a wave of his arm before saying, "Please have a seat … There is some tea made and there may be some coffee left if anyone is interested." After they were all inside, Harry closed the door.

"First," said Minerva, "Number four Privet Drive is nothing but a small hole in the ground this morning." Hermione arrived wearing a white top that almost revealed some skin above her short white shorts, just in time to hear the pronouncement, looked at Harry and put both hands up to her face to hide her shocked expression. "The Muggles will think it was a gas explosion … what wasn't burned was no bigger than a toothpick. We were alerted by our wards and managed to get there in time to stun the last two Death Eaters that were about to leave. We got some information out of them. Apparently there were two rooms upstairs that they couldn't get into, they blew up the whole house hoping you were in one of those rooms. They were sent to kidnap you if possible, or kill you."

"Merlin," said Hermione, "How did you lock those rooms Harry?"

"What do you mean, I just locked them." Harry replied, "After Tonks and Remus packed up the rest of the house, they asked me to clean out my rooms. When I was done, I locked the door again … no real reason at that point … just habit."

"I asked you to do your own rooms because I couldn't get in there." Supplied Remus.

"Oh … I didn't expect them to be Wizard proof." Harry waved his hand at the back door, there was a quiet click and a clunk, then Harry said. "There, that should be easy enough to open for any second year student."

Tonks looked at Remus who looked at Minerva, Minerva pulled her wand, flicked it at the door several times and nothing happened. Remus tried it next, followed by Tonks and the door remained closed and presumably, still locked. Minerva went to the door and tried all the normal detection and revealing spells she could think of and still she couldn't determine how to open it. Minerva stepped back and looked at Harry in confusion. Harry looked at the door and blinked, there was a clunk and a click followed by the squeak of a dry hinge as the door swung open. Harry looked at Hermione, they both had a confused expression and he suggested that she try locking the door.

Hermione had seen what Harry did in the beginning, several weeks ago and was used to following the same thought pattern that Harry used. Hermione pointed her finger at the door and made two flicking motions and a twist, not that her finger really had anything to do with the magic other than a visual guide for her, the door swung closed, the hinge squeaked, and again there was a soft click and clunk. Minerva, Remus and Tonks all failed to open the door, even after examining it closely.

Harry walked over to the door and, with a look of total concentration; he followed the edge between the door and frame with his fingers as though examining it by touch. What he was doing looked similar to what Albus did in the cave to find the hidden entrance to the chamber where the false locket was hidden. Though he wasn't consciously doing it, he was able to follow the threads of magic around the perimeter of the door. Through his fingertips he was able to feel Hermione's magical interference and recognized it as if he was an animal following her scent. Harry didn't make a sound throughout the process. He wasn't mumbling any Latin sounding words as the Headmaster had done.

"Brilliant!" exclaimed Harry when he turned to face the others, "The door isn't locked so much as the door and frame are transfigured into one piece, thus an unlocking charm alone is useless. You need to transfigure the door back into a door, then unlock it." Harry chuckled thinking that was funny.

Minerva, surprised at herself for not finding the solution in the first place, though she hadn't thought to check if the door had been transfigured into something else, flicked her wand twice at the door then a third time muttering 'Alohomora' then twisted her wand to turn the door handle. The hinge squeaked when the door opened.

"Harry," McGonagall said in a curious tone of voice, "You appeared to be following Hermione's magic around the door, much like your memory of Albus in the cave, is that what you were actually doing?" Minerva's voice now questioning and serious.

"I guess so … yes … I could feel my magic had been there, but Hermione's was a fresher trail," Harry thought for a second before continuing, "Her magic is much sweeter and more delicate … if that makes any sense." Hermione looked at Harry with an expression she usually reserved for Luna and Crumple-Horned Snorkacks … at least in the past.

"That is a very rare talent Harry, something I suggest you cultivate when you have the chance … learn as many magical signatures as you can. Albus was able to do that fairly easily, sometimes I can do it too if the magic is strong.

"Yes Professor, I suppose it's just a matter of examining something magical and assigning it a flavour or a name." Said Harry. "Now what do we do Professor, do we let them think I'm dead so they'll give up on me and ignore my friends?"

The name "HARRY!" exploded out of Hermione's mouth as she stared at him, mouth agape.

"That has possibilities," said Minerva. "but … I need the two of you to be at school in September. Try to avoid being seen anywhere as a couple and that will avoid drawing undue attention to Hermione and the Grangers."

"Harry, have you found a place for your Aunt to stay yet?" inquired Minerva.

"No … I guess it's time to start looking

"I don't think that you're clear on your current feelings towards your Aunt even though you are keeping her safe. Perhaps a rental flat somewhere around here, where she might have the opportunity to get to know Hermione's parents." Suggested Minerva.

"That sounds like a marvellous idea Harry." Said Hermione sounding very excited. "There is a Real Estate Office a few blocks from here, where we could inquire." Harry looked at Hermione then at Minerva with a half smile and half smirk before nodding his head in acceptance.

"Harry, Dumbledore's portrait started waking up a few days ago," said Minerva, "At first it was only for five or ten minutes at a time, now he can stay awake for almost an hour. In a few days he should be able to stay awake long enough to deal with his will. I'll make arrangements with Gringotts for Monday afternoon. Albus mentioned that the hereditary title of Lord Gryffindor has already been transferred to you, and Remus told me that you already have Godric's sword, it is yours to keep if you want to, however you may also leave it in my office, it has been safe there for the last ten centuries. Albus wants to see you both before Monday."

"We'll make inquiries about a flat for Aunt Petunia this morning," Harry said to Minerva, then turning to Hermione, said, "If we see Albus this afternoon then our weekend is free to spend with your parents." Harry didn't see Hermione's expression of dread as he turned back to Minerva and continued, "What would be a good time to arrive this afternoon?"

Hermione's eyes rolled back, she wasn't really looking forward to the next encounter with her parents.

- - - - - - - -

During a simple lunch that Harry threw together, he and Hermione looked through the information and pictures of the available flats again. They had made several selections while in the Real Estate office talking to the rentals agent and they were scheduled to tour the flats tomorrow. Hermione hoped to bring her parents as neither she nor Harry had any experience in renting.

Fawkes flashed the two teens into Minerva's office in the early afternoon. For a change the sunshine was pouring in through the south facing windows bathing the room in a golden glow. Fawkes flew over to his perch underneath Dumbledore's portrait, then made a loud squawk to awaken the old gent. Dumbledore's head snapped up and his eyes fluttered open … a smile brightened up his face as his rich blue eyes began to twinkle. Harry had been impatiently waiting for what seemed like years to clear up the issue of Snape's actions on the Astronomy Tower.

"Mr. Potter and Miss Granger, I am most pleased to see you." Albus spoke while carefully scrutinizing the pair. "Minerva tells me that the two of you have finally recognized what most everyone else has seen for years … you should have been couple long ago."

"Sir … about Snape," Harry started to say.

"Professor Snape, Harry." Corrected Albus.

Harry sputtered for a moment in indignation, then responded, "You still want me to call that … that murderer … you want me to call him 'Professor Snape'!"

"Well … he only did what I asked him to do." Answered Albus, "The potion that I drank would have killed me in a few more hours. I could feel it doing its job. I barely had the ability to petrify you as it was, lest you do something foolish. I knew that Professor Snape had taken an Unbreakable Vow to protect Draco. Draco's unwillingness to kill me himself, speaks for his true character, he is not his Father. Had Professor Snape not completed the task, then Draco would have been tortured and killed by Voldemort and Draco's death would have caused Professor Snape's own death by way of the Unbreakable Vow. I knew I was dying anyway, and so I opened up my mind to Severus and allowed him to see my needs and wishes. Professor Snape will keep Draco safe and through his murder of me, he will remain a trusted Death Eater and perhaps be of more use to you as the spy he is."

"It is very possible that if we can convince Narcissa, and provide for her safety and Draco's from Lucius and Voldemort, that we … you … could have two very powerful allies when this is all over."

Harry was glaring at Dumbledore's portrait in complete indignation. That Dumbledore should ask him to protect a Malfoy was a ludicrous idea.

When smoke started to rise from the frame around Albus portrait, Hermione swung Harry around, determined to break his concentration. "Harry," she shouted at him with fear in her eyes, "Be reasonable! Professor McGonagall read the letter to us … it said the same thing Professor Dumbledore is telling us now. We know you don't like Malfoy or Professor Snape, and we're not asking you to like them," pleaded Hermione, trying to coax a small amount of reason out of Harry. Understand that the greasy git did what Professor Dumbledore asked him to do and he probably saved the Headmaster a slow painful death."

"Draco is not the same person that his Father is and his Mother is only trying to keep him alive."

"Alright … alright, I understand what you're saying, and I suppose it makes sense … I'm going to need some time for it to sink in. Draco was always more talk than fight, but I'm going to have a hard time forgiving him for the way he treated you. Snape never liked me and I doubt if I will ever like him … I may need to put up with him, but I don't have to like him, and it will be a frosty Friday in July before I call him Professor again!"

"That can be arranged Harry." Said Hermione with a relieved smirk on her face. Albus laughed along with Armando Dippet, Phineas Nigellus and several other dead Headmasters.

"Since this is already August and you no longer have a time turner, you're going to have to wait at least eleven months," Harry said as he stuck out his tongue towards Hermione. "So there!" Harry, Hermione and Albus all laughed again.

"Minerva did say that you were in good spirits this summer and I can see for myself that you are both doing well together. That makes me happy because I now think you will be able to handle whatever comes up. Minerva has told me about your group of six and I think that is a good idea. You have already found the locket we were looking for and destroyed it. Rowena's wand would be easier to acquire with the help of Mr. Ollivander and I think Mr. Fortescue can be of some help in locating more horcruxes." As Albus mentioned the names of the two missing shopkeepers both Harry and Hermione paid more attention to him. "Yes, you thought they were dead, so does everyone else with the exception of a few friends of mine in the Wizengamot who have been keeping their shops from being stripped and sold. I'm sure even Voldemort assumes that one of his Death Eaters killed them for whatever reason."

"You mean they are alive?" queried Hermione while watching Harry's look of shock and surprise.

"Of course they are," chuckled Albus, "There were no bodies found and no Dark Mark was seen when they disappeared. Death Eaters would have left the bodies and a Dark Mark to terrorize others into doing their bidding. Essentially they both went on an extended holiday. I have them staying at the Dumbledore Estate where no one is likely to look for them. When this is all over they'll need to be compensated for their loss of income. I promised to take care of that and I am asking you two to make good on my promise. Mr. Ollivander can teach you things about a wand that would amaze you and I have been trying to get Mr. Fortescue to teach history here for many years. They have been researching horcruxes and magical methods of locating them since before they went missing. Unfortunately they made some indiscrete inquiries and were found out, that is why I persuaded them to go into hiding."

"How do we contact them?" Asked Hermione.

"Ah, that is the question … My Estate is warded at least as well as Grimmauld Place. I suggest you ask Fawkes to take you there. Don't try it on your own Hermione! Albus stated in a commanding tone. Hermione blinked and remained wide eyed for an explanation. "Minerva has told me that you are also a Phoenix, but your Phoenix blood is not yet tied to the wards. Once you get inside, Twitchie, my House Elf, will find you, she is the secret keeper and she can tie your blood to the wards. After that you will be able to apparate in on your own."

"My brother Aberforth has been helping Twitchie look after Frisel and Florien, simply because he can get through the wards. The less people that can get through the wards by themselves, the better, that was how our parents were killed in the early part of the Grindelwald War. One of our friends brought some of his friends through the wards looking for me. Abe and I were away for a few days at the time. The traitor killed our family and friends … then found she couldn't get out through the wards by herself. By the time we got back, Twitchie had Malaspina Nott disarmed, tied up and packaged for the Aurors."

"On to the reason I asked to see you both … my Will. Other than leaving some small amounts to various people, the bulk of it is left to you Harry. The next larger sums are left to Miss Granger here and Mr. Ronald Weasley. There is a rather cheeky stipulation in the will that you two have to honestly and clearly state your feelings for each other in order to claim the inheritance quickly. If Minerva and my eyes don't deceive me, you two are now a happy couple, so that stipulation will not be required unless Ragnok insists."

"Gringots already recognizes us as a bonded couple so that shouldn't be a problem." Responded Hermione as she tugged Harry closer and wrapped her arm around his waist. Harry blushed slightly while putting his arm around her back and resting his hand on her shoulder.

"Really," Albus stated, sounding very surprised, "That is an unusual distinction in this day and age. Do you know much about the effects of bonding?"

"Well," said Hermione, "we seem to be able to share our minds and feelings and I think our magical power has somehow increased."

"Yes … and no," Albus answered, "You will be able to easily see each others thoughts and feel the others emotions … including pain. Those things you should be able to do either in close proximity or in line of sight. The impression of increased power may be correct or simply a manifestation of being able to borrow magical energy from each other. You cannot both take the excess power from the other at the same time. That reminds me … I expect that you might not be aware Harry … they haven't been used since before I became Headmaster, but … there are quarters for married or in your case, bonded students … should you wish the privacy, simply ask Minerva. You could even request a House Elf if you wanted. I am aware of your feelings regarding House Elves, Miss Granger, and you would not be required to have or make use of one, though I expect Dobby might be disappointed, should you not request him. I assume you are aware of these facilities Miss Granger, as you have a fondness for the book Hogwarts: A History."

"Yes Sir," Hermione responded, "In years long past, many people our age were already married, sometimes even with children of their own. There are small apartments set aside in the castle that have a Common Room connecting them. They aren't associated with any particular house."

"Ah … quite right Miss Granger … you never cease to amaze me." Said Albus as Harry smiled, watching her blush from the praise. "The quarters you will share as Head Boy and Girl are almost as private and much less conspicuous unless you plan on having children before the new school year is over."

At that thought they both turned a crimson shade of red and simultaneously enunciated, "SIR!"

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry." Albus responded, "It's just that Minerva told me of your magical power tests and I was concerned that the situation might, though unintentional, be unavoidable."

"We have been able to solve the problem with some help from Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin. He's not as bad guy as he's made out to be. He, Godric, Rowena and Merlin seem to get along spectacularly in Rowena's portrait. By the way … Merlin is also a white Phoenix … which white Phoenix is supposed to select the leader of the Order of the Phoenix?"

"Yes … the confusion … It was always my intention that it should be Merlin, in his Animagus form as Caledfwlch, the historically 'white' wizard, but then you already know this since you've talked with him. I had no idea that your animal form would also be a Phoenix Miss Granger … I don't suppose you're quite ready to be called Missus Potter just yet … no. Most wizards and witches that manage the transformation match their Patronus form. Yours, I believe, is an Otter."

"As it turned out, Merlin and I agreed on the outcome so there was no problem." Said Hermione, "My Patronus was an Otter … it appears to have changed to a Doe to complement Harry's Stag."

"And I expect you have been wondering, since Tonks Patronus also changed under similar circumstances, if it is always the witch's Patronus that changes and not the Wizard's Patronus?" Filled in Albus.

"The thought had crossed my mind sir." Replied Hermione.


	31. Chapter 31 Passports

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the first 6 books in the Harry Potter series by J K Rowling belong to the aforementioned J K Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

I am sorry about the delay, I haven't been writing much lately. I am very disappointed in the R/Hr and H/G ending of DH and can't quite seem to get my - - - - together. The next update might be around the middle of September as I have work around the house to complete over the next few weeks.

**(31) Passports**

"All my information is from various historical records that were not created for this purpose … however … in the majority of cases that I am aware of, it appears that the weaker magical power changes to conform with the stronger power. There are enough exceptions to my observations to suggest that there may be more factors to take into consideration … or it could be random chance. Several couples did not change at all, however they were arranged marriages." Albus closed his eyes for a moment and yawned. "I think it's time for another nap, thank you both for coming and I promise to be bright and chipper for Monday. The Will reading will be held here at the castle in the Great Hall. I expect there to be about fifty people present. Some Aurors and certain members of the Order will also be present to provide security."

- - - - - - - -

After returning from their meeting with Dumbledore's portrait at Hogwarts the teens had been discussing how to deal with Hermione's parents. They had run through all the options from memory charms to denying everything then to only answering questions and finally deciding on full disclosure. Since Dan and Emma already knew the worst of it from Arthur, the other incidental adventures would, hopefully, seem trivial by comparison.

Part way through the afternoon's discussion, a tiny Scoop Owl tapped on the living room window. Hermione looked at the window and banished the glass, so that Pigwidgeon could deliver his Masters letter. Harry removed the letter from the owl's leg and suggested to Pigwidgeon that he should fly upstairs, there was an extra perch in Harry's bedroom for Fawkes, with food, water and treats that the little owl could have. Harry also asked Pig to try not to annoy Hedwig.

Hermione had opened the note and confirmed that the untidy scrawl was indeed from their best friend, Ron.

- - - -

Ron's note:

Hi Guys, I'm sure you're both reading this

Ginny told me that Neville usually spends a few weeks in August and again at Christmas break visiting relatives in England and Europe along with his Gran. Neville had been allowed to ask Ginny if she would like to accompany them and Mom said it was okay. Ginny's bouncing around like Pigwidgeon, trying to figure out what clothes to pack and everything. Dad gave her a bag of galleons for spending money, and of course they both asked me to thank you for that … so … thank you for that. She leaves tomorrow morning, so the house will be quiet again.

Luna and her Dad are going abroad about the time that Ginny will be back. They're looking for an Umgubular Slashkilter and some Blibbering Humdingers, both of which have been sighted somewhere in Denmark, so I'm told. Luna asked me to come with them. Like I'm going to turn Luna down, or for that matter let her out of my sight. Mom said I could go if I had my homework done before we left, I bet you've got yours done long ago. Luna said she would help me with the homework. I don't know how much help she can be since she's not taking the same year's courses. Well, other than inspiration, maybe that's enough. We'll be back at the end of August, probably just in time to dash through Diagon Alley before boarding the train. Dad said he would give me a bag of galleons too, but not before I'm heading out the door. He probably thinks I'll spend it all on junk before I leave, he might be right too.

Luna and I are together almost constantly now, either here or at her home or at The Quibbler office, which is on their property anyway. Ginny and Neville are much the same, they're either both here or both gone, and Neville's always dragging her around to see some obscure plant or another.

Don't be shy, come visit

Ron

P.S. I don't know what's got into me, Luna must be rubbing off, normally you would be lucky if you got a note from me at all.

- - - -

"Lucky people," Harry said, "They can get away for a while and see new places and meet new people, not that I'm complaining, I've had a marvellous time this summer and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I should be feeling guilty considering the people that got hurt and killed for this summer to be as fantastic as it is."

"Harry!" she exclaimed in an annoyed voice, "You have nothing to feel guilty for …" she stopped speaking abruptly and her eyes opened wide as a happy face overcame the mad expression she had a moment before. "We are going away," she said, and Harry's face turned into confusion, was there something he didn't know? "Oh, Merlin, Mum told me when we were getting ready for your birthday supper, everything was so hectic then that I completely forgot to mention it. We usually take off some time in the middle of July for two weeks and go to France or Europe or somewhere warm. This year, for some reason, it's going to be the middle two weeks in August. Our booklists should come this week, we can pick up our books and have something to read on the beach. Oh … I've got to do some shopping, last years bathing suit is not going to fit!" Hermione exclaimed as she looked down at her hips and waist, "And neither are the shorts!" Then just as excitedly she added, "And I'll bet you don't even have a Passport?" she inquired.

"Uhhhhh … no," he said sheepishly, "Do I need one?"

"It's still Friday and we have a little time, we could apparate over to the Ministry and at least fill out the paperwork to get yours started. I think a magical Passport would be easier to get for you, mine is a muggle Passport and at our age, you need parents to sign, and other people that have known you for at least two years."

"Oh," Harry said, thinking for a moment, "Have you been to the Ministry apparition point before?"

"No," replied Hermione, "I don't think we should go together, it might give us away as if we were going away somewhere together … which we are, but we don't want to make it obvious. You remember what Minerva said earlier today?"

"Yes … okay, I'll pop over there and get the parchment started." Harry backed away from Hermione and with a small twist and a faint pop he was gone.

"Ha … rry," She said as he disappeared, _damn you leaving like that, now I'm going to be worried sick about you until you come back._ Hermione started pacing back and forth in front of the sofa, a worried frown on her lips and her eyebrows furrowed in thought. _Fawkes … I'll get Fawkes to take me to Arthur's office_, she thought and concentrated on Fawkes to bring the red and gold bird to her. Less than a minute later she flashed into Arthur Weasley's private office inside the Office for the Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defensive Spells and Protective Objects. Fortunately only Arthur was in his office at the time.

No one was supposed to be able to apparate into the Ministry except for a room at the end of the Atrium that was provided for apparition in and out. Arthur, startled as he was, had his wand out in a wink, and a dull red stunner left its tip a moment later, before he realized that his visitor was Hermione. Hermione, expecting Arthur to be startled, threw up a strong shield charm as she arrived, which was a good plan as it was hit with Arthur's stunner a blink later. "Hello Mr. Weasley, I thought we were on better terms than that?" Hermione said in a cheeky, questioning voice.

"S … s … sorry Hermione, you scared me half to death, I thought we were being overrun by Death Eaters or something, give an old man's heart a minute to regroup." Stammered Mr. Weasley. It finally dawned on him that she didn't have her wand out … he decided not to say anything about that.

There was a quick knock on Arthur's door before it opened. Hermione moved behind the open door as she put her fingers to her lips, hoping Arthur wouldn't give her away. Alastor Gumboil stepped over the threshold before speaking. "Arthur … we have Harry Potter out here … he is quite upset that he can't get a passport by the end of next week. The girl at the Muggle Relations desk told him it takes four to six weeks to get a passport to travel internationally on Muggle modes of transportation because it has to be processed through the Muggle computer system before it will become valid."

Arthur asked, "Is there anything we can do to shorten the process Alastor?"

"If we try to 'fast track' it we might have it in three weeks, but it's risky, if it lands on the wrong desk it will be rejected, we only have a few witches in the English Passport Office and it has to make its way to their desks for the critical approvals and computer entries." Responded Alastor.

"Alright Alastor, please send Harry in here and I'll see what I can do. Thank you for trying."

Arthur could see the most disappointed look on Hermione's face, and tried to cheer her up. "I have an idea Hermione … it just might work." A moment later Alastor opened the door again and Harry walked in, surprised to find Mr. Weasley behind a desk … and Hermione standing behind the door as he closed it. She had a smile on her face and hope in her eyes.

"Harry … good to see you again so soon." Arthur said as he stood to shake Harry's hand. Alastor was just closing the office door. After the door clicked shut, Hermione drew her wand, pointed it more or less at the door and though there was no magical emission from the wand, they all heard the door lock click and clunk. No second year was going to get through that locked door short of blowing a hole in the wall, then she cast a silencing charm, for which she actually used her wand.

"Mr. Weasley … a pleasant surprise in an otherwise dismal day," Harry responded. Without looking at Hermione he said, "Hello dear, I knew you were nearby. Did you give Mr. Weasley a shock?"

Hermione, with Fawkes still on her shoulder was about to respond when Arthur interrupted, "Harry, I've heard that Ragnok can do some very amazing things … when he wants to. I take it you two are also leaving soon." Harry and Hermione both nodded their heads to indicate yes.

"We're leaving a week Saturday for Belize." Answered Hermione. Harry looked at her in surprise, not knowing where Belize was, but fairly certain it wasn't in the Mediterranean area where he was expecting to go.

"Take the forms and photos over to Gringotts, maybe Ragnok can get the Passport for you in time. Hurry now." Pleaded Arthur, "you haven't much time before Gringotts closes."

Hermione reached out and took Harry's hand, then they flashed away to Diagon Alley, near the bank, but out of sight. Fawkes was very good at finding secluded areas to apparate to. "Oops," said Hermione as she let go of Harry's hand and Fawkes flashed her back to Arthur's office. Mr.Weasley was trying every spell he could think of to open his office door … short of blowing a hole through it. Arthur stopped when he realized that Hermione was back. She pointed her finger at the door, made two quick jerks and a twist with the finger and the door swung open, then she and Fawkes flashed back to Harry.

Arthur left his office with a confused look on his face, then he found Alastor Gumboil as he made his way to the Muggle Relations desk. He asked Alastor to check his office door and try to determine what spell Harry used to lock it. Arthur didn't want to mention that Hermione was there as no one had seen her either come or go. He thought, _I'll have to tell Eric in Security that I let Harry out the back way so they don't spend all night searching for him_.

- - - - - - - -

In Ragnok's office

They spent about fifteen minutes explaining everything to Ragnok while he asked questions and nodded his head at their answers. "It will take some galleons to grease the wheels of the Muggle government. These things can be done faster if you do them offshore and I know just the fellow to handle this matter. You should have your Passport by Thursday … Friday at the latest. The last one I arranged cost about two thousand galleons, I trust that will be acceptable."

"Certainly," said Harry, "Take it from my Trust Vault."

"Would you like to have the Passport under the title of Lord Gryffindor instead of Harry James Potter? I could also arrange a Passport for Miss Granger under the title of Lady Gryffindor. Two Passports would only cost slightly more than yours alone." Suggested Ragnok in an attempt to increase his profit.

"With a couple of small glamour charms, no one would even know we left the country Harry," said Hermione, the thought of them being Lord and Lady Gryffindor, if only for a couple of weeks intrigued her sense of adventure.

"Whatever my good Lady wishes." Harry said, trying to think what her parents would say and trying to stifle his laughter at the same time. _The secrecy was a serious consideration, but he thought the name of Gryffindor would catch the eye of any Death Eater and them trying to pass themselves off as a Lord and Lady would bring its own notoriety. If only he had the time to grow his hair longer … changing the colour is easy enough with a charm_.

"Central America and the Caribbean have many different currencies, we have some offices over there, but the magical population seems to prefer using local currencies instead of the Wizard gold we use here. Might I suggest a Muggle credit card for each of you?" Asked Ragnok. "The cards should be in the same names as the Passports.

"That sounds marvellous Harry," Hermione said as she looked at Harry with a gleam in her eyes. "Will the credit card work in Muggle shops in England too."

"Yes of course and you can make cash withdrawals from almost any bank or bank machine around the world." Ragnok snapped his fingers and several Muggle looking documents appeared on his desk. A quill magically started filling in the mundane information and as soon as it was done Ragnok handed two pages each to the teens along with a quill each. The two kids signed all the indicated places and returned the forms to Ragnok.

Ragnok snapped his fingers and the documents disappeared, he snapped again and two Bank of England Visa Debit Cards appeared. As he handed a card to each teen he said, "The funds will come out of Lord Gryffindor's Vault, do not loose the cards or try to magically modify them. They will stand up to apparition as well as normal everyday spells and charms, but if you get into a magical fight with the cards on your person, they'll have to be replaced. Any Bank of England or Gringotts office can handle the replacement. If there is nothing else, thank you and I will owl you the Passports as soon as they arrive here."

"The last time we were here, we were told there were some restrictions to using the Gryffindor gold, yet these credit cards are tied to that vault. What are the restrictions that we have to abide by?" asked Hermione.

"Large or repeated expenditures such as donations or investing in a business or property must meet a set of guidelines. The amount that you two are likely to spend on a vacation would not be an issue unless you tried to buy a yacht or hotel."

As soon as the pair were outside the main doors of Gringotts, Fawkes flashed them back home. Once in the house Harry asked Fawkes to thank Arthur and let him know that everything worked out perfectly. The teens then made their way to the living room sofa where Harry brought up the topic of their holiday destination. Hermione explained that her parents usually kept their destination a secret so that she wouldn't be able to read up on everything before she was about to leave. Hermione had spotted her dad's diving manuals and a list of dive sites from which she had been able to suss out their destination.

Hermione was still sitting sideways on Harry's lap, with one arm around his neck, on the sofa, in the Grangers living room, when Dan and Emma returned home from their Dental Practice that evening. The longer two of Harry's three legs had long since gone to sleep, however, Hermione was keeping the middle one at attention with a sly smile and an occasional wiggle. Harry had rested one hand in her lap, his fingers interlaced with hers, his other hand had long ago found its way under her top and around her waist.

After rummaging in the kitchen for a few minutes, Dan and Emma made their way to the sofa in the living room and sat on either side of the teens. Her parents waited and watched the kids in silence for several long minutes before Hermione finally caved in.

"Did you find out enough from Arthur or would you like to hear our version?" Asked Hermione. "I haven't told you everything over the years because I was afraid you wouldn't let me continue school at Hogwarts if you knew what was happening. I knew I had to be there for Harry … I couldn't take the chance."

"Believe it or not, we were told about most of your adventures by your head of house, she seemed quite proud of the three of you and thought we should know. Professor McGonagall's notes to us started with the Troll, that first Halloween." Said Emma, "That scared us more than you'll ever know … when she told us of the two boys that saved your life and how the three of you became such good friends, we knew that you belonged there. Pulling you out to return to public school would only make you friendless and miserable. We never said anything, hoping you would tell us eventually, yet realizing why you didn't."

"Harry," said Dan "Professor McGonagall had only kind words and great expectations for both of you … and Ron. Your Headmaster visited us last year, we had an amazing discussion about you two and the possibilities he envisioned for your future. He was quite a character." The apprehensive looks on the teens' faces, gradually, over the course of the Granger's revelation turned into almost happy faces. "We also realize the danger that we are all in, your Headmaster told us that we should trust your judgement and that while he didn't have enough people to keep an eye on our safety all the time, he would do his best to keep us safe."

"It was quite shocking when we were told that the three of you were the best chance the world had of destroying this Voldemort person. That is a lot of faith to put into three young people."

"Six," said Harry, "It seems that Hermione and I owe you at lot for going along with all of this and not being scared out of your wits."

"We still are scared out of our wits, every time an owl shows up, other than Hedwig, your Mother freezes and I have to remove the note and read it." Said Dan. Hermione winced at the thought of what she would be feeling in her Mother's place and then she remembered.

"For the holiday that I'm not supposed to know about," Hermione paused for effect, "Will it matter if Harry's Passport is in the name of Lord Gryffindor?"

Dan and Emma looked at each other, the look on their faces appeared to say 'What Now'. Dan spoke up first, "Yes it could make a difference, I'll have to talk to the travel agent in the morning, I have to finish paying for the tickets anyway. The ticket was reserved in the name of Harry Potter. Do you have any other surprises pumpkin?"

"Only one other surprise Daddy, my new Passport is in the name of Lady Gryffindor." Emma's mouth dropped and her eyes bulged out reminding Harry of Luna's protuberant orbs. Dan simply shook his head from side to side, as if expecting nothing less from his daughter.

"And young lady, just when did you become Lady … whatsit … I mean Gryffindor?" muttered Dan.


	32. Chapter 32 House Hunting

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the first 6 books in the Harry Potter series by J K Rowling belong to the aforementioned J K Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

**(32) House Hunting**

"Ummmm … well, it's a little bit complicated …" Hermione started.

"Simplify it!" Dan demanded, interrupting her hesitant response.

Harry inherited his title on his birthday, the title used to belong to his Grandfather. Goblin Banking Laws, because of our connection to each other, recognize me as Harry's … wife … spouse, whatever … when we arranged for his Passport he … we were given the option of going by Lord and Lady Gryffindor. I sort of talked Harry into it so there wouldn't be a specific record of Harry Potter and Hermione Granger leaving the country together."

You are going to need more than one piece of identification to get through Customs; do you have anything else that indicates Gryffindor?" Asked Emma. Hermione reached into Harry's pocket and pulled out two credit cards, passing them to her Mum.

Dan snickered, murmuring softly, "She's got a stranglehold on the family fortune already." Emma glared at him and he became quiet, but Harry burst out laughing, whether from Emma's stare or Dan's comment, only Harry knew for sure.

"These cards are for real … right?" Emma asked, wondering whether to try to bite the corner of a card to find out if it was real plastic. "Have you tried them out yet?"

"No actually, we only just got them, why don't you let me pay the balance on the tickets, then we'll all know if they work properly."

"There must be some limit on those new cards, it can't be enough to cover these tickets," said Dan in a concerned voice.

"Ragnok said as long as we didn't try to buy a yacht or a hotel there shouldn't be a problem. The travel agent you used, is that the one beside the real estate office over there." Hermione said pointing towards the kitchen."

"Yes," said Dan, "Why?"

"Harry and I have to go house hunting tomorrow, and we would like your help selecting a place." Said Hermione.

Both Emma and Dan looked disturbingly at the couple snuggling between them. Harry, realizing the problem, answered, "The flat is for my Aunt … not us. We've still got a year of school to go anyway. I don't know what sort of questions to ask or what price is reasonable, thus, your help would be appreciated." Hermione's parents both nodded in acceptance.

The Grangers had brought supper home with them in anticipation of the evenings long discussions. When the microwave chimed they made their way to the kitchen. It took Harry a few minutes to get moving as he had to wait to get some feeling back in his legs before they would support him. Hermione took pity and helped steady him on the short trip to the kitchen while Dan and Emma snickered.

Saturday Aug 2

Last night before going to sleep, Harry concentrated on his hair, to have it longer and thicker across the front, and the sides and back lengthened to the level of his chin, which would keep it off his shoulders. The colour, he needed to change it from black, Weasley red was out, Malfoy platinum blonde was definitely out as was Luna blonde, he settled on brown, but much darker than Hermione's. Harry kept running this through his mind as he slept, as if repeatedly chanting a mantra.

In the morning, Harry suddenly awakened to a screaming Hermione as he was being shoved off the side of the bed. She had leapt out of bed, pushing him off the other side in the process; she moved away from him, her back to the wall and her wand, or something resembling it, which had somehow found its way to her hand, pointed in his direction. Harry thrashed around on the floor for a bit in panic, trying to untangle himself from the bedding, before he could poke his head up over the side of the bed. She was still screaming at the top of her lungs, and what a wonderful pair of lungs she had. They hadn't used a silencing charm last night, though their bedroom door was locked. A moment later Harry heard Dan and Emma stampeding down the hall and coming closer, undoubtedly in answer to Hermione's screaming. Harry waved his hand at their bedroom door to unlock it and it swung open just as her parents reached it.

Hermione's unconscious mind noted the strangers' actions, it would take a minute for the logic of the situation to reach her conscious mind and allow her to realize the stranger must somehow be Harry.

Her parents entered the room at full speed, Dan dove over the bed in an attempt to tackle the stranger whilst Emma rushed to Hermione to comfort and calm her. Emma had placed herself between Hermione and the stranger which didn't allow Hermione to immediately see what happened next.

Harry held out his hand, palm up, and Dan stopped in mid dive, suspended mostly above the bed. Harry rotated his hand, aligning Dan with the bed, petrified him and lowered him onto the bed gently. All Dan could do was move his eyes and breathe. Harry began to stand up and said, "Hermione, dear, what's the matter?"

Emma turned around, still shielding her daughter, to face the sound of Harry's voice, what she saw made her eyes bulge for a moment as she took him all in. Wearing only his boxers she could see impressive arm, chest and leg muscles … not nearly enough to make the covers of those fitness magazines, but then, they were ridiculous anyway. He must be Harry, but his face was all wrong until he put on his glasses, but still, he was wrong. It took her a moment to realize that his hair was wrong, the colour was a dark brown, not black and it was almost down to his shoulders. Hermione had struggled to peek around her Mum by this time and she too was gawking at the not quite Harry. Hermione recognized the body and the voice and while the glasses helped, his face was wrong, no the face was okay, the hair was wrong, it was dark brown, and much longer than last night.

Harry stretched out his arm and a robe came to him, he levitated it over to Hermione, she grabbed it out of the air and dropped it over her head in one smooth automatic motion, Harry then conjured one for himself.

Hermione summoned a mirror and levitated it over to … Harry? … then she asked. "Please explain yourself, you frightened me near to death … you almost got yourself killed too." Emma moved beside her daughter with an inquisitive look at the young girl … no … woman … she grudgingly admitted to herself. Hermione pointed her wand at her Father and gave it a swish, releasing him from the petrification charm.

"Oh … good … it worked." Harry voiced, "It needs to be combed, but that's what I had in mind."

"What do you mean 'that's what I had in mind', what were you trying to do?" asked Hermione.

"Well you said we should change our appearance for the trip, so we wouldn't be recognized." Harry answered.

"Yes … I remember … I assumed we'd use some sort of glamour charm … that's no glamour charm … that's real hair Harry!" She said angrily.

"I thought about changing my hair length and colour last night. I made a mental image of what I wanted it to look like in the morning and I concentrated on it overnight." Harry replied as if it should be utterly obvious. "Have you never done that?"

"No, I've never done that, no one can do that … except for …"and she stopped speaking abruptly.

"Tonks." Said Harry. "Oh my …" Dan and Emma were looking back and forth between their daughter and Harry.

Finally Emma spoke up, "Tonks is the one that can change her hair colour at will, isn't she?"

"That's not all she can change," responded Hermione, "She morphed into me once that I know of, and Remus and a pig and a goat and a hag … oh my God. When did you find out you were a Metamorphmagus? Daddy you can get up now."

"I am … I mean I didn't know … I knew I could grow my hair … sort of … I didn't know I could do it on demand. I've only done it the once before." Stuttered Harry. Dan was still looking back and forth between Harry and his daughter; he had no intention of getting up … this was too much fun to watch.

"Harry!" she exclaimed, her voice full of exasperation, "You only talked to a snake once! … before the Dueling Club … When did you grow your hair?" Demanded Hermione.

Harry felt he was back in courtroom ten with the entire Wizengamot cross examining him. "A couple of years before Hogwarts … that year … just before Public School was to start, Vernon had my hair cut so short I was almost bald … I was so mad, and embarrassed, that it all grew back in overnight … exactly the way it was before it was cut. You can't imagine how mad Uncle Vernon was when he saw me in the morning."

"And you never thought to … mention this to anyone, I suppose?" Hermione sounded quite sharp in her response. "Daddy, I said you can get up now."

"I don't want to … unless I'm in danger here?" Dan replied while he lay there.

"If you can grow your hair like that you can probably change or grow other things," said Hermione as her mind wandered over his body contemplating the idea. When her eyes reached his crotch, her mind went into overdrive just before shutting down. Her face became as red as a ripe cherry tomato and her parents could see where she was looking.

Both Dan and Emma were blushing almost as much as Hermione when Emma said, "Dan! … come with me, we're going to make breakfast … NOW! … move it!" Emma grabbed his arm, nearly pulling him off the bed as she marched out of the bedroom.

Hermione's mind eventually calmed down, though her heart rate was only just beginning to slow. "They didn't say anything about us being in the same bed with almost nothing on." Whispered Hermione. "We need to find Tonks and find out if there is some way to test you or find out what you can actually do … maybe Luna … no she might have only seen the one image of you as an animal and not realized that you could be so much more. Hermione had made her way to Harry's desk when she said, "Harry get showered and changed, I'll write a note to Tonks, maybe she can come by this evening … and we need to have a long talk … to find out what else you might be unaware of. You might be hiding 'The power he knows not' somewhere in your past."

Later Saturday morning Harry and the three Grangers went out apartment hunting for Aunt Petunia. First they stopped at the Travel Agency, conferred with Carol, the agent that the tickets had been booked through. They made the required changes and Hermione pulled out her credit card to pay.

Harry noticed Carol watching Hermione's left hand when it dawned on him that there was no wedding ring there. "It's being resized, it was too large." Harry said, that seemed to ease Carol's confusion. Hermione looked at Harry for a moment before it dawned on her, exactly what he meant. Dan and Emma looked at each other and nodded. The transaction went through without a hitch, the tickets and Itinerary were printed out and the deal was done.

Going next door, they found Peter, the rentals agent. The four of them had gone over the pictures and information on the flats for Harry's Aunt the night before and in a few minutes they were on their way to view the first one. They narrowed their selection down to a flat and a small house. The final decision was based on location, Petunia, when she got back from her cruise, would now have a small house. With the insurance money she would likely get from the house in Surrey, she could decide whether to continue renting or not, the house was ultimately for sale. The owners had moved out long ago and the house had been rented on and off over the last two years. It turned out to be a long walk away from the Grangers home, but quite near some stores in a quiet neighbourhood. Harry had felt some magic in the house; it didn't feel dark so he didn't concern himself with it.

One of the nearby shops was an Optometrist; Hermione hauled Harry in there and got him some contact lenses to match the prescription of his glasses.

When they arrived back home, Hermione took Harry into the bathroom and proceeded to trim his hair in a few specific places, then handed him a mirror so he could see the changes she had made. That way he could keep the hair at that length and style by himself. With the longer brown hair and contacts, Harry looked completely different.

By suppertime Hedwig had returned with a response from Tonks that if it was alright, both she and Remus would arrive about seven o'clock that evening.

As the time approached Hermione was in front of a full length mirror in her bedroom with Harry and her Mum watching as she tried out some glamour charms to change her appearance.

You could never mistake Tonks arrival, there was a loud crash. Remus appeared behind the remains of the fallen garden shed that Tonks somehow managed to knock down again. As Tonks emerged from under the rubble, Dan opened the back door. Remus helped Tonks up and then pointed his wand at the remains of the garden shed before he muttered 'Reparo'. The shed was again restored.

Once inside, neither Tonks nor Remus recognized Harry at first until he greeted them. Tonks asked, "Where are your glasses Harry?"

"Hermione confiscated them and got me contacts to wear instead." He said. "Part of her idea to change our looks for the trip."

Hermione then enlightened Tonks on her wake-up fright this morning. Remus spoke up in sympathy with Hermione as he recalled several episodes where Tonks had morphed overnight to fit in with her dreams and he woke up to a stranger attempting to kiss him in the morning. The first few times it was frightening, after that it was still disconcerting. "Now I just go along with it. If I woke up with Delores Umbridge in our bed tomorrow morning, I would flinch for obvious reasons, but I don't think I'd jump away." Said Remus. Harry laughed while Hermione looked at them both in shock.

"Harry, have you ever had to shave?" asked Tonks.

"A couple of times back in fifth year I used a charm to remove the fuzz. I remember thinking it was rather of a nuisance and wishing I didn't have to bother with it."

"And you haven't since … is that right Harry?"

"I guess not, I forgot about it soon after that, no I haven't done it since."

"I don't suppose you've had a chance to read up on Metamorphmagi since this only came to light this morning. There have been various levels of abilities in the past. Some Metamorphs have only been able to change certain parts of their anatomy such as hair, head, arms, legs, skin colour and texture such as scales or fur. Some, like me, can morph their entire body into something or someone else. Tonks proceeded to transform into Crookshanks. The morphing process took about a minute since it was such a drastic change. The real Crookshanks, who was curled up on Hermione's lap, suddenly stood, back raised, tail straight up and fluffed, then began hissing at Tonks being an image of himself.

Tonks morphed again, this time into Professor McGonagall, except with pink hair, before continuing, "I've always liked pink hair," which sounded very strange coming from someone resembling and sounding like Minerva. "My Mother first suspected my abilities when I was just five, I had asked her to charm my hair pink the night before, but she wouldn't. Mom tried to explain that pink was just not an acceptable colour for hair. I was five, I liked pink, what can I say … in the morning I had a full head of pink hair. When Mom couldn't cancel the spell, she became suspicious, she knew there had been some Metamorphs way back in the Black family, years and years ago. Harry, you had a Grandfather named Charlus Potter, he married Dorea Black sometime in the late 1930's I think, so you could have some or all of the Metamorph genes in you too."

"Anyway … I guess Mom talked to some people or looked something up, because much later that day we started playing what I thought was a game. It started with changing the colour of my fingernails and toenails, then the shape. By bedtime I had four different shaped toe nails and my fingernails were all different colours. When she tucked me in, she suggested I change my hair colour to green or purple for the morning.

I couldn't make up my mind between green and purple, I didn't really like either colour that much. The next morning I woke up with hair that was streaked green and purple and still had pink tips, it was grotesque, although by today's standards all I would have had to do was spike it with some mousse and I'd fit right in with the teenage Muggles." Most everyone laughed.

Harry was listening to Tonks and when she was done talking about the fingernails; he thought he'd try one. He picked the fingernail on the smallest finger of his right hand and concentrated on it. He immediately decided that pink wouldn't show up very well so he concentrated on light blue. After a while, nothing seemed to be happening so he put his hand down and went back to concentrating on Tonks dissertation.

Tonks rambled on for several minutes before divulging that initial changes to her fingernails took up to an hour and with practice, lots of practice, her body became used to the process and it became much easier and faster. "It takes time to morph, much the same as Polyjuice potion takes a minute or so to change someone's appearance."

"Talking about changing appearances … Harry was taking a longer time than the rest of us to change into his Animagus form." Hermione then asked, "Could it actually be a Metamorphmagus form?"

Tonks Queried, "Harry has an Animagus form?"

"And who is 'us' … you, I know about … do you mean Ron, Luna, Ginny and Neville as well?" Asked Remus. Hermione silently nodded her head.

"Yes … please don't tell anyone … if we're forced to register then Voldemort will find out, and any advantage of surprise is lost." Hermione asked in a hesitant voice. Remus and Tonks cringed slightly at her use of the name Voldemort.

"Six unregistered Animagi," Remus wheezed, "and Harry might be a Metamorphmagus … oh, there will be hell to pay at the end of all this."

Tonks talked for a few minutes on the differences between an Animagus a Metamorphmagus and Polyjuice. Dan asked what would happen if he were to take Polyjuice potion. Neither Tonks or Remus knew for certain, but they did agree that the results could be bad.

When Tonks appeared to be finished Harry again looked at his fingernail and he could just see the pale blue starting to infuse into it. Harry held out his pinkie finger towards Hermione stating, "I think it's starting to turn blue."

Tonks reached out and pulled Harry's hand over to herself, so she could examine it. "You were thinking baby blue … correct?" she asked.

"Well … light blue, yes." Was Harry's response.

"Hermione, it took me a couple of years to be able to change as fast as I do, so the more practice he gets the better. Another point, I was at the age of five when I started, I had no preconceived ideas that some things were impossible. Try having him put little dots of colour all over himself, like a bad case of full body pimples. If there are any areas that he can't colour that way then they are unlikely to be able to morph either. That ought to keep you two busy until school starts. There is only one book on Metamorphmagi in the Hogwarts Library. It's pretty good … anything you can't find in there, I should be able to answer. This could be fun to have two Metamorphs around." Tonks started to morph again, this time into Harry, with his glasses and normal length hair, except in pink.

Remus said, "Don't expect me to kiss you when you look like that." Which prompted Tonks to Morph into a toothless, wart faced Hag approximating the look in Muggle children's fairy tales. Remus shook his head sadly, then spoke to Hermione, "Do you have any idea what could be in that can of worms you just opened up?"

As Tonks and Remus were about to leave Harry mentioned, "We've found a small house for Aunt Petunia that's near here. If you could bring her belongings there and expand them for her this week that would be appreciated." Remus said that he would have some time after the Will reading on Monday, then he and Tonks left for home, watching someone become polka dotted was not their idea of fun.

Harry was fascinated by his new possibilities, however, it was Hermione that took charge and took a lot of the fun out of it by keeping track of every little coloured dot. That proved to be the fun part and they spent most of the daylight hours in the backyard pool while Hermione helped Harry learn to swim. Harry insisted that turnabout was fair and that he should be able to make sure that none of his coloured dots were contagious and appearing on her.

Over the course of the weekend there were a fair few family discussions as Harry or Hermione would bring up some of their lesser adventures or her parents would ask questions. The weekends discussion topics also brought up their annual holiday, which this year turned out to be in Belize. What with the teens busy schedule over most of the summer the topic of holidays had been assumed, but never came up.


	33. Chapter 33 Will or Will Nott

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the first 6 books in the Harry Potter series by J K Rowling belong to the aforementioned J K Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

**33 – Will or Will Nott (Time moves on)**

Monday Aug 4th

Monday morning arrived and Harry was looking to be his normal self, his hair had shrunk and all the little coloured dots that could normally be seen were gone. Harry had maintained a few images in strategic locations for Hermione's amusement. It had taken Harry most of the weekend to create an image of a Hungarian Horntail on his chest. Hermione had challenged him to attempt it and he had done amazingly well. Harry conceded, however, that it would be unlikely for him to ever make a living as an artist. The other was a red arrow from just below his navel pointing down with the text 'In Case of emergency – Pull Handle'. Harry had even managed to morph his eyes so that he didn't need his glasses any more, which delighted Hermione to no end. Hermione liked to look at his eyes without the glasses; they were less distorted making them much more expressive. Normally she only got to see them properly when they were in bed.

Hermione had transfigured the lenses in his glasses so that he could still wear them and appear to be his usual self.

The teens had arrived at Hogwarts quite early and met up with Tonks and Remus in the Entrance Hall. They talked quietly for a while until a crowd began to build then moved to an empty classroom. Tonks was amazed to see that Harry could make his spots come and go within seconds. After Hermione confirmed, to Harry's embarrassment, that they could come and go all over his body and that he had been able to correct his vision, Tonks had Harry try a few more exercises that her Mother had taught her. Hermione was concerned that Harry was picking this up so quickly until Tonks reminded them that she was only five when she and her Mother were going through this. The time it took her at five years old with the minimal amount of magical power she had at that age, and the time it could take Harry, with his considerable amount of magical power, to accomplish a similar change today should be much shorter, even though Harry was still feeling out his newfound talent.

"Let's go to The Great Hall for the reading of Albus Will," stated Remus as time approached the hour.

As they were allowed into The Great Hall, the Goblin security guards were checking for Polyjuice and glamour charms and anything else that would alter a person's appearance. There was even a ward across the entrance to cancel Animagus and Metamorphmagus alterations. Tonks walked through just ahead of Harry and her hair changed back to its normal summer blonde colour while setting off several security alarm charms. Tonks was bounced out, gently enough that she wasn't ruffled, and had to go through again. She looked Harry up and down before proceeding through the warded doorway again, this time successfully. Harry got the hint and concentrated on removing all his spots and other enhancements including his better eyesight and the image of the Hungarian Horntail while waiting his turn. That meant he had to remove the plain glass lenses transfiguration on his eye glasses as well so he could see where he was going.

Once through the doorway they all had to pass through an pink mist that disabled any magical means of recording the events. They could of course walk away with their memories and any hand written notes, but things like Rita Skeeter's quick quotes quill would not work within the Great Hall nor would any magical cameras.

Once all the beneficiaries, and, in the case of younger ones, their parents, were inside the doors were closed, guarded inside and out by Gringotts Security Goblins.

In the centre seat at the Teacher's table, was the Portrait of Albus Dumbledore, Headmistress McGonagall was on the portraits right and Ragnok on its left. There were two more Goblins on each end of the head table to handle the clerical duties. The house tables had been pushed aside and about seventy-five plush arm chairs were lined up in five rows facing the head table. Aberforth Dumbledore was in the centre seat of the first row along with many wizards and witches that Harry didn't know. Harry, Hermione and her parents along with Ron and the Weasleys were shown seats in the back row. Harry and the Grangers were puzzled by this although the Weasleys seemed pleased with the arrangements.

When the time came Ragnok stood up and snapped his fingers, a reverberating GONG sounded, like a large church bell, and silence fell. Ragnok started by explaining the procedure they would follow, which was not uncommon for sizeable estates. The details of the disbursements would not be announced to the group. As each person's name came up in the will, they would be called to the Head Table, shown and read the passage in the will that pertained to them, be given their bequeathment or sign the paperwork for it, then they would be ushered out. The first order of business however was family, and this is where it all started.

Ragnok sat and pulled towards him a thick stack of parchment. After leafing through the first few sheets he said in a loud voice, "Aberforth Dumbledore, please rise." Aberforth stood and nodded his head at Ragnok. "You, as the eldest and only living member of the Dumbledore family are aware of the full contents of your brother's Will … do you have any challenges to make?"

"No challenges," said Abe, "My brother's Will, may stand as written." Aberforth nodded to Albus portrait and Albus smiled back. Ragnok thanked him and pointed to the left end of the table, directing Aberforth to the Goblin clerk having the parchment for him to sign. Then Abe walked out of the Great Hall and left for Hogsmeade.

Others were called up from the front row in ones, twos and threes … in short order the front row was empty. One of the clerks removed the empty arm chairs and another clerk moved up the other four rows. Another thirty minutes and all that was left was the back two rows, the process started to slow down half way through the row in front of Harry and it took an hour to get to the Weasleys. Arthur and Molly appeared to get a sizeable amount judging by the smiles on their faces. In fact, as Harry later found out, when talking to Ron, it would have dwarfed the amount that he gave them, had it been gold, except that Albus bought back their rights to sit and vote on the Wizengamot. Some of the first disbursements in the Will cancelled debts of life and honour that the Weasley family ancestors owed. Ron went up next, with his Father … not that Ron wasn't of age, but he didn't have a vault of his own … yet. By the time Ron and his dad returned, thanked Harry, though Harry couldn't think what for, and left the Hall after arranging to meet outside, Hermione was called. She and her parents went up, talked to Ragnok and Dumbledore's portrait, the Grangers were starting to acclimate to things magical until they found out what their daughter was being given and wanted to do with it, then Ragnok called Harry into the group. Hermione wanted to add her inheritance to the Potter vault which did not cause any problem until she wanted to add her parents' names to the vault and give them a credit card tied to that vault, like her new credit card that was tied to the Gryffindor vault. Harry easily agreed and after about a ten minute delay the Grangers had new credit cards.

Finally Harry's turn came, there was no point sending Hermione away, or her parents as Ragnok and Dumbledore agreed that all the stipulations in the Will had been met for Harry to gain the balance of the Dumbledore Estate and vault. The vault was placed in the names of Harry and Hermione Potter as was the estate and Castle in southern England. The last item, which was technically Harry's already as Lord Gryffindor, except the paperwork hadn't been completed, was the Gryffindor lands and Castle in southwest England. The Potter family had made Gryffindor Castle their home for eight of the last ten centuries and Harry was welcome to do the same. Godric's Hollow, as it turned out was on the southern edge of Lord Gryffindor's properties, a quiet rural village near the English Channel. Initial access to both properties would be through Fawkes and the head House Elf at each location would tie them to the wards allowing them easy access by any method.

After Ragnok concluded the formalities of the estate distribution and began to pack up … "There is one final detail," said Minerva, "As I am certain you know from 'Hogwarts A History', the school and it's lands belong to the Ravenclaw family even though Helga Hufflepuff planned and administered the expansion of the original Keep into Hogwarts Castle. This summer, you, Hermione, qualified to usurp the position of Matriarch of the Ravenclaw family, putting you in control of its destiny now," Hermione looked at Minerva in shock, "surprised are you … I was too when Ragnok confirmed that you are the Ravenclaw heir. We … that is … the Board of Governors, needs your permission to continue using Hogwarts as a school. You should however talk to Rowena before granting permission. There are a lot of details about this inheritance that you could put to your advantage when negotiating with the Board. Rowena made up a complicated set of rules and criteria to qualify and disqualify any of her descendants, something she would be best suited to explain to you. Griselda Marchbanks, the head of the Wizarding Examinations Authority, has been the recognized heir for the last hundred years or so, but your recent bonding to Lord Gryffindor bumped up your status significantly. Harry, slightly confused as to what his contribution in the puzzle was, but smiling broadly, watched as Hermione looked back at him, a dazed and confused expression apparent on her face. The Grangers, while happy and proud of their daughter were also somewhat confused that their daughter could be heir to all of this, but then many occurrences in the magical world made little sense to their Muggle way of thinking. Harry reached the short distance to Hermione's waist while they gravitated into each others embrace. The outward appearance of a simple hug, with the warmth and personal contact it provided was nothing compared to the emotional exchange that was going on between the pair. If anyone bothered to look at Minerva they could have seen a rare smile on her face and a twinkle in her eyes as she watched the two teens that would eventually become one of the most famous couples in modern Wizarding history, even if Harry already had a good head start on his own. They eventually separated enough that brown eyes and green eyes could lock onto each other, searching for something, yet not knowing what. Harry's thumbs came up to Hermione's cheeks and gently caressed away the few tear drops that lingered before a cough from Dan brought them back to reality.

- - - - - - - -

Bill & Fleur Wedding Wed Aug 6th

The balance of the week flew by, the next main event was Bill and Fleur's wedding. Amidst the preparations for the wedding they snuck off Tuesday evening to visit the Dumbledore Castle with the help of Fawkes. Twitchie, Albus's House Elf, found them moments after their arrival in the Entrance Hall. She, of course, knew that they would be coming, but not when. Twitchie led them to a portrait of a much younger Albus with a woman and two young children that was hanging in the Main Hall. Albus confirmed their identity and made introductions to his wife and children. His wife had died in the war with Grindelwald and both his children and their families had been killed by Voldemort's followers about six months before the events that created Harry's fame. Twitchie proceeded to integrate Harry's and Hermione's blood and magical signatures into the Wards protecting the Castle and surrounding lands. Once all the details of Wards and ownership were taken care of Twitchie brought them together with Frisel and Florean for a brief discussion and renewing of the promises that Albus had made. Florean confirmed that they believed they were close to identifying the location of another Horcrux.

- - - - - - - -

Harry and Hermione thought the wedding was a spectacular event, it was obvious that Harry's contribution made a difference. At the reception, Harry and Hermione danced with each other initially, however they were split up a few times by Ron and Luna as well as Ginny and Neville. Bill and Fleur took them each away for a dance near the end of the evening, actually early morning, to thank them for making their day that much better.

- - - - - - - -

Thursday Aug 7th

The day after the wedding both of their Hogwarts Letters arrived at the Grangers home, with the book lists. Dan and Emma relieved the owls of their letters while allowing the teens to sleep until just after noon. Most of their sixth year books carried on into seventh year including the Potions, Charms and Transfiguration texts. Hermione needed new books for Ancient Runes and Arithmancy, then they both needed new books for Theory of Defence and Practical Defensive. A footnote explained that DADA was being split up into ToD and PD to give students more training.

The book for seventh year ToD is 'Offence is the best Defence' by Stan K. Shorts; and the new book for seventh year PD is 'So You Want to be an Auror' by Urma R. Crayzee.

"Harry, are you going to use Snape's old Potions text again?" Asked Hermione.

"Actually … yes," and before Hermione could interrupt Harry added, "I talked to Slughorn and explained about the book being the reason for my initial successes last year. He said that it didn't really matter what ingredients I used or what recipe I followed, it was the results that counted. He was actually considering teaching from that book."

"Harry, what about those dangerous spells in there?" Hermione exclaimed in shock.

"No dear, he was only interested in the modified potions recipes," responded Harry, "I told him about the spells that were noted in the book and he showed no interest in them at all."

"If that is true and we can remove those spells from the book, we should be able to copy Snape's potion changes into other books for Ron, Ginny, Luna and myself." Suggested Hermione, "It's too bad Neville didn't get an O.W.L. in potions. If Snape hadn't been so rotten to Neville, I'm sure he could have made it through potions and carried on with us."

- - - - - - - -

Remus popped over later that afternoon with some news about the house for Petunia. "Dora and I moved all of your Aunts stuff over, we put the boxes where we thought they should go and expanded them. That all went smoothly until we found the resident ghost."

"Resident ghost?" inquired Hermione.

"I knew there was something odd in that house." Stated Harry, "I felt cold a few times and there was a feeling as if we were being watched."

"We talked to her, she was very accommodating once we got around to explaining that you were renting the house now, and your Aunt would be living there. She knew who you were of course, that's what swayed the deal. We had to agree that you would come by a few times each year and talk with her. She died about five years ago, her husband killed her, she haunted him until two years ago, drove him crazy, he's now locked up in St. Mungos. She would appreciate it if you would kindly stop by and talk to her for a bit before you go back to Hogwarts."

As Remus explained the agreement, Harry's eyes rolled back in his head, then his head started lolling from side to side with an expression on his face that clearly said 'Merlin, why me and what's next'. "Remus … will Aunt Petunia even know she's there?"

- - - - - - - -

Fri Aug 8th

The following morning as they were preparing to leave for Diagon Alley to get their new books and order new robes Hermione got the second of what would undoubtedly be a long string of surprises. Neville and Ginny had long since left with Augusta for the Longbottom semi-annual trek to visit some of their relatives. Harry was quickly improving his Metamorph skills and by the time he had showered, dried and partly dressed, he had morphed into a duplicate of Neville. He had just opened the bathroom door, intending on returning to his room to finish dressing when he found himself in a full body bind. A screaming Hermione stood in front of him … she had just arrived to use the bathroom. When Harry came to his senses he was starting to topple over. Harry was able to cancel the body bind curse easily enough, and quickly enough to regain his footing, he only stumbled a bit.

Hermione, almost immediately recognized Harry's mind and emotions coming from right in front of her then realized that Harry must have changed into Neville so that he could walk with her and not be recognized as Harry in Diagon Alley

"I suppose that I need to warn you when I'm going to morph?" inquired Harry. Fortunately her parents had already left so they won't be coming along with cricket bats and golf clubs.

"Yes, you definitely need to warn me before you morph!" exclaimed Hermione. "I see now exactly what Remus means about Tonks. I'm not sure I'll ever get used to it."

"I didn't expect to change so quickly, I guess because Neville and I are now so close in size the change is quicker. Maybe if I tried to change into Ron, who's quite a bit taller, it would take longer."

"Let's not try that right now," suggested Hermione, "Now that you've got the Morphing down to a reasonable time we should let Ron and the others in on the news, I'm sure Tonks hasn't told anyone."

"They may want to go to Diagon Alley with us too," said Harry.

"That would be great." Responded Hermione as she spelled her ring to broadcast a message to Ron and Luna asking them where they were. The message actually went out to all six rings, but Minerva, Neville and Ginny would ignore it as it didn't pertain to them.

Not even a minute later, as they were discussing how to play out the meeting, a message came back from Luna that they were both at The Burrow and a request for Harry and Hermione to join them in a trip to Diagon Alley.

- - - - - - - -

Harry and Hermione apparated, with a fairly loud pop, to their usual arrival point just outside The Burrows wards. Ron and Luna sat, facing each other, at a table in the back yard, discussing today's trip when Luna spotted NevilleHarry and Hermione approaching.

Luna canted her head over to watch the two as they neared and when they were within normal talking range she said, "Hello Hermione … Harry … how are you both?" While Luna was greeting the others, Ron turned his head to do the same and upon sighting Neville, his eyes bugged out and his mouth dropped open.

"Neville … where's Harry? … where's Ginny? … what's going on? … you're supposed to be long gone!" Before Ron finished speaking he had his wand pulled out and was in the process of pointing it at NevilleHarry and Hermione when it jumped out of his hand and hovered just out of reach.

Ron could see Hermione's outstretched hand was pointed towards the wand before she spoke. "It's alright Ron, this IS Harry."

"Hey mate, what do you think of the disguise?" Asked NevilleHarry.

"I don't know that I'd bother drinking Polyjuice just to look like Neville," responded Ron, "Besides, when did you two have time to make Polyjuice potion? The last time Hermione made that it took a month to make." Luna looked up at Hermione in surprise.

"That's not Polyjuice Ron," said Luna. Ron swung around to face Luna and examined the look in her face that confirmed she was serious. While Ron was looking at Luna Harry changed his hair colour to fluorescent blue, it only took about ten seconds to fully change. When Luna noticed the change occurring she burst out in a huge smile because it confirmed what she had suspected, that Harry was a Metamorphmagus. Ron turned again quickly to face Harry and fell off his seat when he saw the bright blue head of hair.

"Bloody 'ell!" Ron exclaimed while watching the tips of the hair turn from dark brown to electric blue. "Tonks, quit impersonating Neville or I'll hex you." Harry proceeded to morph from Neville back into himself. Hermione attempted to explain as they sat down at the table.


	34. Chapter 34 Summer Vacation

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the first 6 books in the Harry Potter series by J K Rowling belong to the aforementioned J K Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

My posting has been slowing down due to a lack of written words which is partly due to a lack of time.

**34 – Summer Vacation**

- - - - - - - -

They Floo'd to the Leaky Cauldron, then entered Diagon Alley. Once inside Madam Malkins, they had to wait, which suited NevilleHarry, he found an empty change room and morphed back into Harry before rejoining Hermione, Ron and Luna. This time he told her before he morphed and there were no surprises other than Harry managed to change in just over ten minutes. Before they left the robe shop it took Harry fifteen minutes to change back to Neville. When they bought all they needed from Diagon Alley they returned to the Leaky Cauldron and watched as Ron and Luna made their way to The Burrow. Then they proceeded to Muggle London to acquire the necessities for their holiday in Central America.

Harry had fun watching Hermione try on shorts and tops that were either so flimsy or so short they were more erotic than anything else. When it became Harry's turn to try clothes on, Hermione made sure he tried some short shorts and shirts that she enjoyed looking at him wearing. By the end of the shopping day they had a fair selection of practical clothes and a couple of the more exotic outfits that Hermione knew her mother would be shocked at … but then … Hermione never intended that they would be worn in public, just for those private moments when 'laptop' wasn't necessarily referring to a portable computer.

Late Fri Aug 8th

- - - - - - - -

Saturday Aug 9th to Aug 24th

The Grangers and the Potters had left for Belize on Saturday morning. Although the Grangers had been on many flights to vacation spots over the years this was the first time since Hermione was born that they had been this far away. Dan and Emma got bored fairly easily with the tedium of long flight times and waiting in Airports for connecting flights. Harry, never having flown in aircraft before, kept Hermione occupied with questions of all sorts, most of which she was able to answer, having asked them at one time or another herself.

They arrived in Belize on Sunday after several stop-overs and flight connections. The first few nights they stayed in Belize City on the mainland, staying at the Radisson Hotel. During the days they took tours of nearby Mayan excavations, at one site they were able to go fairly deep into the ancient city where Harry was able to recognize traces of old magic, he even found what he thought was a magically hidden entrance to another room. He showed it to Hermione, but they kept it a secret between them and the Grangers.

After the first few days they took a local flight to Ambergris Caye and stayed at a resort called Ramon's Village where both the Grangers and the Potters, as Hermione liked to think of her and Harry, each had little round huts with a thatched roof on the sea shore.

Between sunning and swimming and a fishing charter, at the suggestion of Dan, the teens managed to get certified for Scuba diving through one of the local dive shops. Hermione mentioned to Harry that it was too bad they hadn't come here before the Tri-Wizard Tournament, then Harry would have known how to use Scuba equipment for the second task, not that he would have had it with him. Dan was in the Navy in his youth and became a Navy diver, he loved diving so much that when he married Emma, he was able to convince her to become certified too. It therefore wasn't that much of a coincidence that most of their summer vacations had been in southern France or somewhere around the Mediterranean. Emma preferred warm water diving and the ocean temperatures in the tropics were just right.

Near the end of their vacation they were on a three day dive charter culminating at a destination the locals called 'The Blue Hole'. A four hundred foot deep hole straight down into an extinct underwater volcano. The top edge of the crater was, for the most part, just above the ocean surface. There were three places that a boat their size could enter the crater and several buoys to tie up to. Our four travellers and the group they were with on the boat, were taken down into the volcano to a depth of about one hundred thirty-five feet don't tell your PADI Instructor that you went that deep where there exists many pillars and columns along the crater wall that they could swim around along with shallow caverns they could shine their lights into. After about seven minutes at that depth, the maximum time they were allowed, they were guided back, by the boat's team of dive-masters, up to the thirty foot depth, where they remained for about fifteen minutes to decompress, before surfacing.

- - - - - - - -

Their last full day was spent in Belmopan, the countries capital, shopping for mementos of the trip. Hermione, of course, found a book shop as if drawn there by a magnet. When they entered, Missus Adams greeted them and introduced herself as Wanda, asking if there was anything specific they were looking for. Hermione gave her a curious look, then replied that she liked looking through books and had nothing specific in mind. She could hardly tell the woman that she was looking for anything on Mayan magic that they could find. Harry surprised her by stumbling across a section of magical books in a dingy back corner of the shop. That corner, just like the Leaky Cauldron, couldn't be seen until you were looking right at it. Hermione, when she joined him, was very surprised that they had much the same titles, though not in such quantity as Flourish & Blotts back home. They even had an autographed set of Lockheart's books, and as well there were some locally published books on Mayan and Andean culture and their ancient magic. This was of course a no-brainer for Hermione and soon she had Harry carrying more than half the stack of books they had selected. Harry's realization, since Albus' death that he needed more training and Hermione's insatiable thirst for knowledge over the years had a significant effect on him that became noticeable over the summer, and, unlike Ron, he was getting more accustomed to sticking his nose in a book to look for answers. Knowledge and learning had been discouraged by the Dursleys since they punished Harry if he got better marks in school than Dudley. Though not quite as fanatical about reading as Hermione, he had picked out about a third of the books they were carrying up to the sales counter. Hermione was quite proud of Harry for selecting the books he did on his own initiative, and Harry could feel her happiness as well as some lust through their mind link. He responded to her in kind adding a smile and a wiggle of his eyebrows, while balancing his stack of books in one hand and reaching down to give her bum a quick squeeze with the other. She startled at the unexpected touch and almost lost her stack of books. When she recovered a moment later, she gave Harry an admonishing look while he simply grinned back at her, his eyes sparkling with mischief. Getting nowhere with her scalding look, it slowly changed to a sinful smile that Harry recognized from many a morning waking up in bed with her.

Dan and Emma had skipped the book shop for a souvenir stand, leaving Harry to what they expected to be 'Hermione's Curse' of painstakingly making her way through a new, for her, book shop. Little did they realize, Harry was having almost as good a time looking for books as their daughter and while he was doing it with her, he was amazed at the little spikes of joy in her emotions as she found one book after another that she wanted.

Most of their books were on magical topics that earned them a raised eyebrow from Wanda, the owner standing behind the counter. While her appearance and colouring was similar to the locals, it was quite obvious that she had a good amount of English blood and upbringing in her demeanour. Being the overly friendly sort that characterizes the indigenous population, she immediately engaged them in conversation while trying to find out who they were. The magical book section had Muggle repelling charms so she assumed they must be a Witch and Wizard, they looked young enough to still be students, the confusion came when Harry presented his Bank of England credit card which showed his name as Lord Gryffindor. Wanda had heard a little about a Lord somebody or other that was a very bad person in England and jumped to an incorrect conclusion causing her to pull out her wand from under the counter and point it a Harry.

The books Hermione was carrying dropped to the floor making a very loud 'whomp'. Hermione had one hand in front of Harry and the other pointed at Wanda. Harry slowly put his stack of books down and raised both hands to shoulder level with his palms facing towards Wanda. Missus Adams did not understand their reaction. Hermione moved very quickly which caused her concern, but neither teen held a wand. Their actions certainly didn't appear either defensive or offensive.

Harry slowly moved his right hand over to his left shirt pocket and began pulling out a multicoloured silk scarf that he was conjuring as he pulled it out, one tug after another as he had seen a Magician on the tele do a long time ago. His right hand draped the scarf carefully over his loose left fist. After passing his right hand slowly over his scarf covered left fist the scarf bulged upwards. Harry tugged the scarf up gently as it filled out into a balloon shape before lifting it clear of a spectacular bouquet of assorted English garden flowers such as he had tended in the Dursleys flower beds. Harry sniffed the bouquet to make sure that the aromas were correct before handing it over to Wanda.

The shop door opened at that moment and Dan walked in, "Are you kids almost done, it's nearly time to head back to the Hotel." Wanda hurriedly put her wand away.

"Yes Daddy," Hermione responded, "A couple more minutes to total this up and pay for it." Dan wandered down an aisle of fiction to see what he could find. Harry picked up the fallen books while Hermione pulled out her wand summoning a vase from a shelf well behind the counter. Hermione added water to the vase and hovered it for Wanda to put the flowers in.

The books were counted and totalled; Harry's card was passed through the machine and approved. Harry signed the credit card receipt 'Lord H. J. P. Gryffindor' just as it was on the back of the card and at the bank. Harry had realized the first time he had to sign for something that he would have to learn to write smaller like Hermione always did.

They talked to Wanda for a few minutes about Mayan magic and tried to explain themselves without mentioning the name Harry Potter before Hermione shrunk the books and gave them to Harry to carry. They rounded up Dan in the Medical books section and made their way out of the book shop to find Emma.

- - - - - - - -

Sat Aug 23rd

They left from the main Airport just outside of Belize City on a sweltering Saturday morning. Harry and Hermione had each taken several Mayan magic books with them in their carry-on bags, they were prepared for the long flights and Airport waits. By the time they arrived at Heathrow Airport, in the rain on Sunday morning each had made their way through all the books that were with them. Between books and sometimes chapters they would do some light snogging and cuddling, Hermione stopped Harry once, when she saw, out of the corner of her eye, her book lift a few inches above the tray table it was resting on. There was no one else in the entire back row of seats at the time, except Dan and Emma snoozing on the other side of the plane, to witness the flying book, but apparently some tea spilled in a seat in front of them causing some excitement.

By the time they landed at Heathrow, got their luggage and had, what for them should have been lunch, before arriving home it was about ten o'clock on Sunday morning. They were all happy to have a good English meal in their stomachs after surviving on airline food for the past twenty-four hours of flight and waiting time. After Harry and Dan unloaded the car the Grangers left to go grocery shopping. Harry and Hermione got the luggage inside, a little magic making light work of it, and distributed the bags and trunks to their appropriate destinations.

The teens had unpacked quickly. Since most of their clothes needed washing, very little needed to be put away in drawers or the closet. They met at the washing machine downstairs, Harry already had his first load started he was well used to washing clothes, he had been doing his and the Dursleys since he was tall enough to use the machines at Privet Drive and Hermione had been doing her own most of her teenage life, when she was at home.

Hermione had also brought down with her one of the Mayan magic books, they went outside while waiting for Harry's load to finish washing. Hermione wanted to try some concealment and revealing spells found in the book, she also knew she wanted some serious snogging and outside was best for that. When they arrived at their favourite bench Hermione put down her book and notes then turned to face Harry who was already closing in on her with one arm snaking around her waist. Hermione immediately reached up to encircle Harry's neck while stretching her height by standing on her toes. As Harry leaned over his other hand swept under her bum and he lifted her off her feet and up to eye level. She squeaked in surprise and her arms tightened around his neck as their lips crashed together. The kiss started out hard and hot, stifling her squeak into a moan that Harry could feel through her lips. Harry felt the tension ebbing as she melted in his arms. He could feel her breasts crushing against his chest as their breathing became fast and shallow, his pants were tightening uncomfortably and soon she would again know proof of his desire for her. His tongue slid along her lips requesting access to her mouth and moments later their tongues were duelling for access to the others mouth. Harry wiggled his bum to try to make space in his pants for his ever growing desire, with her centre pressed against him just below his beltline she could now began to feel his increasing enthusiasm. Hermione's eyes popped open wide and she moaned her pleasure into his mouth while wrapping her legs around him, pressing her core into his growing erection. Harry hardly had to hold her up anymore the way she was wrapped around him allowing his hand that was around her back to move up to her neck and stroke her hair as her hands were already doing to his. Over time their lips parted several times allowing them to breath properly.

Before they knew it there was a crash as the screen door bounced off a loveseat on the back porch and Dan cleared his throat. The pair split apart instantly, turning to face her Father, Harry's enthusiasm clearly apparent by the bulge in his pants.

"Well … I can see that part is working properly." Dan said smiling wickedly as he was clearly looking at Harry's crotch.

Hermione tried to move her hand in front of the obvious bulge … in the process hitting it with her hand causing Harry to grunt an 'oomph' and in reflex she almost closed her hand around Harry's erection through his pants. That love tap and almost grope was just enough to be the straw that broke the camel's back, both of his hands immediately grabbed his erection over top of Hermione's hand. Harry was squeezing her hand around his piece trying to put a strangle hold on his manhood to keep it from erupting.

Hermione, as an automatic reflex tried to jerk her hand free from the clench and in doing so made an excellent job of stroking him … once … that was more than enough. Harry gripped tighter, but too late, he groaned a soft "Nnnooooooo-OOO" followed by a sharp intake of breath and moments later by a sigh of relief once the internal pressure was released. Hermione was in panic mode and tried to kneel down in front of him to block the view. Harry hadn't released her yet and she could feel her hand warming and wrist becoming wet, seconds later an expanding bloom could be seen in Harry's Pants extending outward from their still clenched hands. Harry kept a stranglehold on her hand and his piece until he began to recover and become soft.

Dan started to laugh at the teens, now completely mortified and turning bright red. They stood and knelt in stunned silence.

Emma, of course, had heard the commotion and came in time to see Hermione appear to reach out and grab Harry's crotch. Before Emma could force herself turn away she saw the scene play itself out. Hermione's head then rested on Harry's stomach as she repeated endlessly, "I'm sorry … I'm sorry … I'm sorry … I'm sorry …" When Harry finally released his grip she looked up at him with a defeated expression still muttering her mantra.

Harry's hands, now free, moved to stroke her hair as he muttered in a still shaky voice, "That was brilliant … I love you." Referring to the whole episode that was now much more than snogging.

Hermione, still kneeling, wrapped her arms around Harry's waist turning her head to the side and lightly resting it on his stomach. "I love you so much Harry," she sighed and gave his waist a squeeze before releasing her grip and standing up in front of him. Harry had lowered his hands to hers and helped her up.

When they were looking eye to eye, Harry smiled at her and said, "Thanks dear, I needed that."

"I do too," she whined, "but not here and now," she whispered looking around, "I'll turn around, you follow me closely upstairs." She said a little louder as she turned then reached back to take his hands behind her back.

They walked towards the door where her parents were standing, Dan moved aside holding the screen open and Emma stepped back inside to clear a path for the kids. The teens gingerly walked through the doorway, not quite sure what to expect. Dan and Emma stood aside and said nothing, realizing how embarrassed they were to have been caught out in that circumstance and with Harry following so tight behind her, what was left of his reaction was now hidden. A few steps after they were through the door and past her parents, Hermione shifted aside and they both ran upstairs. As soon as they were inside his bedroom, Harry turned, looked at the door, it closed and locked while Hermione cast a silencing charm to keep their noise from escaping.

- - - - - - - -

A while later … during her musings and while her fingers hadn't been occupied with tasting, she had been absently stroking his hair. Still positioned above her he had been supporting most of his own weight so she was able to breath easily enough and certainly appreciated his warmth and closeness if not the stickiness. Harry finally lifted his head to look at her and she motioned with her tongue. He brought his face closer and she licked his chin, then his lips in an attempt to find out what she tasted like to him. She found it not bad for a second hand sample, then pressed for a kiss.

They heard Emma call from below, "Your wash finished a while ago, I put it in the dryer and started another load, it'll be done in about ten minutes.

They both froze at the sound of her Mother's voice … a moment later Hermione cancelled the silencing charm then covered Harry's ears with her hands. "We'll finish up this chapter and be right down Mum!" Hermione yelled while grinning up at Harry, she then re-silenced the room while they cleaned up and put on fresh clothes.

Emma was still hovering around the machines when the teens made an appearance. "You know your book and notes are still outside," she said while adjusting the dryer.

Both teens blushed, Hermione a little more so. Since Emma made a point to not look at them they recovered quickly.


	35. Chapter 35 Cousin Jeannette

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the first 6 books in the Harry Potter series by J K Rowling belong to the aforementioned J K Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

**35 – Cousin Jeannette**

- - - - - - - -

Mon Aug 25th 1977

This was a typically miserable, wet English summer day, they had missed most of the bad weather this summer while flitting back and forth between Hogwarts, The Burrow, Privet Drive and Oxford. By the time the teens thought about getting out of bed Dan and Emma were at their office, working through their lunch break. The Grangers had a full day booked at their Dental Surgery and loads of new stories to tell their patients.

The balance of the week went by quickly, the teens revisited the house they had rented for Aunt Petunia, talked with the ghost and got to know her as well as one afternoon would allow. Her name was Violet Caruthers and other than being a ghost, she was very pleasant and appeared easy to get along with, although quite lonely. Ghosts apparently could only venture a certain distance from their assigned haunts and there were no other ghosts or Wizards close enough to provide any company. Violet assured Harry that Muggles couldn't see her and she wouldn't do anything that would upset Petunia as long as she could talk to someone occasionally.

Minerva was still being thwarted by the Wizengamot in her attempts to obtain Ravenclaw's wand from Ollivander's shop window. News of this prompted the teens to revisit Myrddin Castle, the proper Welsh name of Dumbleodre's home. They had no trouble apparating in and Dumbledore's House Elf met the pair moments after they arrived. Twitchie escorted them into the Library, interrupting a heated debate between Frisel and Florean. Hermione explained their thoughts about the old wand in the window of Frisel's shop, the old man confirmed immediately that the wand once belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw and had been in the window for several hundred years. It was well protected with charms and jinxes that would take a skilled curse breaker to deal with, or a blood heir of Ravenclaw like himself. This of course started Hermione thinking, Harry as well, no one else had heard Rowena call Hermione, her daughter, except Harry.

"If I can come up with a blood relative of Ravenclaw, what would that person have to do to take the wand and return it to Rowena in Hogwarts?" Asked Hermione to the room in general.

"If your intent is to return the wand to its rightful owner the wand will allow you to take it. If you are not Ravenclaw's heir, you won't be able to enter the shop." Stated Mr. Ollivander.

"The back door of my shop will open to anyone with Ravenclaw's blood. The trick is to make it through the next door." Frisel went on to only a basic explanation of the procedure because it required wandless magic that would take someone at least as powerful as himself or Dumbledore to get past the second door. The two older gents had, of course, no idea of the capabilities of the teens they were talking to. The four talked well into the evening, Twitchie served up a supper that Molly Weasley would have been jealous of, and as daylight faded to twilight Harry looked around the Dining Hall, they had moved there from the Library to eat and had remained there after the meal. Harry looked at each gas light in turn and each lit as he concentrated on it. Hermione did the same to the candelabras at each end of the table. Florean, though he hadn't as yet said much looked like a fish out of water while Frisel smirked as if thinking 'I might have guessed'. Frisel now knew he wasn't the only other one in the room that could do wandless magic … well, if you knew anything about wand making it was obvious … you couldn't use a wand to make a wand, the process could only be done with wandless magic, which explains why there are so few wand makers.

The next morning the teens went to Hogwarts to visit Minerva and talk about retrieving the wand. Mr. Ollivander had told them where to find a look-alike copy to put in its place. Minerva wanted to have Shacklebolt, Moody and Remus attend in case there was trouble, it would be up to Hermione alone to enter the shop, swap the wands, retrieving Rowena's real wand that might also be a horcrux. Hermione's parents were at their Surgery so there was no need to return to Oxford until supper time. They had been scolded for not showing up the previous night as there was no note or message indicating their whereabouts. Since the day was still young, Harry wanted to visit Gryffindor Castle and possibly Godric's Hollow. Fawkes appeared ready and willing to take them and they were soon on their way. Minerva would notify them when she had all the arrangements in place to retrieve the ancient wand.

Moments after leaving Hogwarts they arrived outside the gate to the grounds of Gryffindor Castle. Fawkes almost instantly popped off again. Hermione could see only a grassy meadow with scattered bushes and trees, she didn't understand why Fawkes had left them there. Harry could see much the same meadow that Hermione saw except that there was a stone wall three or four meters in front of them that went off past the horizon in both directions. A gate directly in front of them and a castle against the hill in the distance.

Harry couldn't understand when Hermione asked why they were left in the middle of nowhere. It took a few questions and answers for him to determine that Hermione couldn't see the man made structures in front of them. Harry tried his best to explain what he could see. When he talked about the gate in front of him he told her there were words chiselled into the stone archway. The words on the archway read, 'Welcome to Camelot', in sixth century Welsh script.

Hermione, more so than Harry remembered her Muggle history from Public School and this Camelot is no where near where it was supposed to be, it should be somewhere in Wales. The pair began discussing the possibilities of this actually being Camelot … or just a copy of the original … or perhaps Godric Gryffindor's idea of a personal Camelot when a Witch, a Wizard and a House Elf with both Gryffindor and Potter coats of arms on their robes, suddenly flashed into being on the other side of the gates … Fawkes was with them. Hermione could see the new arrivals, but still no gate, wall or castle in the distance.

The two groups looked at each other briefly before Guinevere, the House Elf bowed and said, "Lord Gryffindor, if you would please to carry Lady Gryffindor through these gates she will forever more be allowed free access to your lands. You will have to repeat the process at the Castle gates to allow her free access to Camelot. Lady Gryffindor," Guinevere continued, "you will experience some minor discomfort this first time as you pass through this gate and the next … it is merely the magic changing to accommodate your presence. Lord Gryffindor went through this process as a baby."

Harry looked up at Fawkes who was now perched on the Wizard's right shoulder, the two communicated briefly … enough to give Harry a confident feeling that everything was as it should be. Harry explained to Hermione that once she was accepted by the wards she would be able to see everything that he could. In one fluid motion and without any thought process that Hermione could have picked up on, Harry scooped Hermione up in his arms causing her to squeak in surprise, then he walked through the closed gates. The iron gates seemed to twist, move and be pushed or morphed around them as the couple passed through. Harry felt an interesting tingling sensation and Hermione felt a mild pain pass through her body that went away almost as fast as it came. Harry came to a stop soon after passing through the gate, Hermione's arms had wrapped around his neck and he gave her a bounce to adjust his hold on her. Hermione looked around again, the wall, the archway and gate were now visible to her, but when she looked where Harry indicated the castle to be, there was only a hill. The thought of putting her down never crossed his mind until Hermione said, "I think you can put me down now … **Lord** Gryffindor."

"As my **Lady** wishes," Harry responded and feigned dropping her … she dropped about an inch before he stopped her descent. By that time she had a stranglehold on his neck and was screaming bloody murder in his ear. Harry leaned his head back and his sparkling eyes and bright smile helped calm her down, she loosened her stranglehold on his neck and he gently let her down onto her feet.

"Good morning My Lord … My Lady," said the Wizard, "My name is Howard Bedivere, this is my wife Anna-Morgause and over here is the Lead House Elf, her name is Guinevere." He said motioning with his arm. Anna-Morgause curtsied and softly said good morning, Guinevere bowed and backed up a step.

Hermione did an Umbridge imitation of clearing her throat, causing Harry to sharply turn his head in shock only to see her smile back at him. Now that she had eye contact, she could make him aware that their greeters seemed very nervous, perhaps unsure what to expect from the new Lord of the Castle, so to speak.

Harry caught on and started to speak, "Howard … please call me Harry and this is Her…" he was interrupted.

"Your Lordship, that would not be proper, you are Lord Gryffindor." Said Howard, "And everything you can see and a lot more is yours." Harry took a deep breath, closed his eyes and started counting.

Hermione could feel the frustration growing in him, she knew it was just a matter of Harry … wanting to be … 'just Harry' and not being allowed to do so. Hermione took one of his hands in hers and with her other hand, thumb and index finger on his chin, directed his face towards hers. When Harry opened his eyelids and their eyes locked together, all of Harry's frustrations melted away and a small grin broke out on his lips. She had always had that effect on him, just as soon as he looked into her eyes, all his troubles melted away. "Let's find out all we can before we start changing the way things are … some things might have very valid reasons.

The apparently long walk to the far away Castle took no more than a five minutes and Harry was again carrying his Lady through the next set of gates. A shorter walk took them to the main doors of Camelot where Harry asked, "Would my **Lady** allow me to carry her over the threshold of her soon to be home?"

Hermione giggled, she seldom giggled, but this time she did, before she replied, "If it pleases my **Lord**." She couldn't help breaking out in giggles again as Harry scooped her up and carried her through the open front doors. Howard and Anna smiled at each other, Guinevere was noticeably happy too.

They spent the day touring Camelot from the lowest dungeons to the highest spires of the towers learning the highlights of the Potter and Gryffindor family history. In the midst of the tour and shortly after lunch the teens were left alone for a few hours with a portrait of James and Lilly that they came across in, of all places, the Library. The portrait had been rescued from the Library in Godric's Hollow after their death and the near destruction of the cottage. After Hermione was introduced to his parents and they talked about how they came together, Hermione could sense that Harry wanted some alone time with them. She was also impatient to nose around a library as old as, or older than, Godric Gryffindor himself. When Harry eventually broke away from his parents and looked for his Lady fair, he spotted a bushy brown mop of hair behind a stack of books on a table. She had settled into a comfortable looking arm chair by the fire and looked as if she was prepared to stay for the winter. By the time he was facing her and taking the scene in completely, he was smiling and chuckling at his classic image of Hermione, curled up with a book or books almost larger than herself. He was also shaking his head in disbelief that she could have found so many books of interest so quickly, but then … she was Hermione … need anyone say more.

"I'm sure Howard and Anna are waiting for us to continue the tour, Mother said that the house in Godric's Hollow has been restored and kept up for us … if we want to live there. Mother said she likes you and Father likes you too … I don't think we'll have time to see it today if we continue with the castle tour." Said Harry as Hermione conjured a bookmark to save her place in the overly large tome.

She carried the book with her as she and Harry made their way out of the Library. "Do you think Howard will mind if I ask to take those books with me, I think they might be useful?"

"I'll ask when we find him," said Harry, and … no sooner said than done … Howard was waiting with Anna a short way down the hall from the Library door. The question being asked and answered in the affirmative, the next question being, "My Lady, where would you like the books delivered?"

"I'll keep this one with me, the others can go to …" and Hermione thought for a moment, then continued, "Our room in Hogwarts."

Harry called silently for Dobby and about ten seconds later the strange Elf appeared. The requests were made and the books moved, Dobby even took the one book Hermione wanted to keep to Hermione's bedroom in Oxford.

The tour of the castle continued for a few more hours and finally ended in Howard's office on the fourth floor. In that office the teens spotted a familiar looking portrait frame … that looked suspiciously like one of the ones in Rowena's Common Room at Hogwarts. Though there was at the moment nothing in the scene but a tree and a grassy field, Harry went up to it and cast a revealing spell on it. In almost no time at all a familiar red and gold Phoenix flew into the picture then transformed into Godric Gryffindor before stepping out of the Portrait and into the room. Howard and Anna were in complete shock, never before had they seen anything like this. The office was previously used by Charlus Potter, Harry's grandfather, and from here he ran the estate. When Charlus died, and shortly after James and Lilly went into hiding, Howard assumed the responsibilities, but that painting had always been a scene with a lonely apple tree. From time to time people from other portraits would come to eat some apples, but they always went back to their own portraits.

"Hello Harry, Hermione … I'm very happy to see you finally made it to Camelot," said Godric as he looked around and saw the other two, "Oh … hello Howard, Anna, you and the others are doing a fantastic job of keeping the estate up, my thanks to you all." Howard and his wife were still standing there in total disbelief that Godric Gryffindor was actually there and talking to them.

"Sir …" Said Harry tentatively while looking at Godric.

"No need to call me Sir, young man, after all you did accept the title of Lord Gryffindor and you do hold title to Camelot. Just call me Godric, I never was much for titles and fanfare."

"Godric …" Harry started, then paused for a moment, "If we were to follow you through your portrait here … would we come out in Rowena's Common Room … in Hogwarts?"

"You mean the place where we first met face to face," said Godric, "Yes, and there and a few other places you could end up including your parents home in the hollow south of here."

Hermione could see Harry's eyes light up and quickly threaded her arm through his saying, "Harry wants to see that." And Harry nodded his head. After thanking Howard and Anna, then saying good-bye, the three stepped into the portrait and moments later, stepped out into the Library at James and Lilly's house in Godric's Hollow. Hermione looked around and was amazed, this Library looked almost as large as the one in Camelot. Harry looked back at the portrait they came out of. He could see a grassy path winding down the middle separating a flower garden from a vegetable patch and a few gnomes watching him curiously. Guinevere appeared with a loud Pop, between the three of them and the door leading out of the Library. Godric, who, as himself, couldn't venture out of sight of his portrait, suggested that Guinevere should show the teens around the house, and they ventured forth leaving Godric behind.

The tour of the house was fairly quick, taking about twenty minutes and quickly covered everything from the root cellar to the Nursery upstairs. Guinevere made sure to tell them that the house was completely restored to the condition it was that fateful Halloween night that Voldemort came. Hermione thought to herself that this was a wonderful house and although Castles are quaint and historic this would be a place she could make a home … if Harry could somehow forget what happened here. Oh well … not likely … she had felt Harry's emotions peak and pitch a few times as he seemed to recognize some places in the house. The Nursery, where his crib was, was the most obvious recollection, she could even see it in his face. They returned to the Library to say goodbye to Godric who was now in his portrait where he was kneeling down and appeared to be having a conversation with a garden gnome. The House Elf told them they could now apparate to or from anywhere in Camelot including here.

When they left Godric's Hollow, they apparated directly to Hermione's bedroom in Oxford. They knew they were later than they promised so they burst out of the bedroom into the hall and Harry crashed into … Jeannette … Hermione's cousin, from France. Harry grabbed onto Jeannette in an attempt to keep her from being knocked over and Hermione had to grab onto Harry to keep him from overbalancing and falling onto Jeannette. Jeannette had also grabbed onto Harry's T-shirt with a death like grip and her long fingernails had already made some holes that began to rip before Harry had a firm grip on her.

As they recovered their balance, Jeannette looked up at Harry's torso and her eyes gorged their way up to his face before she whispered in her sexiest voice, "Ohhh, 'allo 'ansome … where did you come from and why don't I know you?" Jeannette was still holding onto Harry tightly, not letting him go, she thought she could see part of a scar under the black tousled hair that came half way down his forehead.

Hermione ripped her cousin's fists away from Harry's shirt … that further tore his T-shirt, exposing enough of his well muscled chest for Jeannette to start drooling before Hermione could move between her cousin and the love of her life. The glare Hermione was giving her cousin had been enough, in the past, to cause Ron to flee, not wanting to risk her anger.

Jeannette tried to counter with, "And where were you two 'iding, I've looked in all the rooms up 'ere and you weren' d'ere? I 'erd a popping zound before you came out … like someone … oh my …"

Emma had made her way to the bottom of the stairs after hearing noise and talking from upstairs. She could see Jeannette and Hermione, and behind Hermione a head of not as messy as usual, black hair. "Girls, wash up, it's time for supper … you too Harry." There were two 'yes Mum's' and a 'yes' that made it to Emma's ears before she left for the kitchen.

The 'yes Aunt Emma' had been cut short due to the state of shock that settled in when Jeannette realized that standing in front of her, with part of his shirt in her fists, was none other than 'The Harry Potter', The Boy Who Lived, The Chosen One, The Tri-wizard Champion, the one that Gabrielle, her younger dorm-mate wouldn't shut up about. Jeannette still had her gaze focussed on Harry and never noticed, or couldn't sense, the magical surge building up in Hermione. Harry felt the energy build up and quickly spun Hermione to face him then hugged her to his chest while watching her cousin closely. The eye contact they maintained allowed Harry, unintentionally, to enter Jeannette's mind and find her current thoughts.

Jeanette was a witch, about five years younger than Hermione, she was almost 12 when she started her first year at Beauxbatons due to her birthday being early in October, but she was not shy when it came to boys. She was now as tall as most fourth year girls and well proportioned with a tanned complexion, and … Harry had to admit … she was very pretty. If you took the Vela heritage away from Fleur, Jeannette would give Fleur stiff competition in the looks department.

Hermione had calmed down in Harry's arms; he had been slowly moving his hands over her back as he was gathering information about Jeannette. Jeannette shook her head, breaking Harry's eye contact and his access to her memories. "Were you just in my mind?" Asked Jeannette.

"Sorry about that," apologized Harry, "It just happened, I wasn't trying to pry, our eyes met and I seemed to be flooded with images." Jeannette looked shocked that he could slip into her mind so easily and almost undetected. "Wash up … suppertime," Harry said as he directed Hermione ahead of him into the upstairs bathroom.

Jeanette ran downstairs two steps at a time, her long black hair trailing almost straight out behind her, and ran into the dining room at full speed announcing loudly to her parents, "Hermione's a Witch and Harry Potter's here too!" Dan and Emma froze in surprise, and shock, they were sure that the neighbours could have heard that outburst. Robbie and Janet LaMonde were also in a state of shock that their daughter would make such an open announcement. Janet's eyes quickly found Emma's while Robbie and Dan looked strangely at each other until Harry and Hermione walked into the room almost unnoticed. Harry, in the last few minutes while washing up, had managed to update Hermione on the images he had seen in Jeannette's mind.


	36. Chapter 36 Skirmish in the Alley

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the first 6 books in the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling belong to the aforementioned J. K. Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

I may from this point onward borrow a few places and names from the fabled 7th book by J. K. Rowling including but not limited to the given name of Luna's Father. I do this for convienience and not as a Spoiler or an indication that I agree in any way with that book's outcome.

**Coming soon:**

The first part of my Christmas Story. With the permission and cooperation of **MissAnnThropic** and the kind assistance of **thescribbler**, I will bring you a continuation of "**Vox Corporis**", entitled **Vox Corporis: A Very Voxie Christmas**. My story will begin after the second Epilogue (Chapter 70) of Vox Corporis and takes into account as far as possible thescribblers in progress story **Vox Corporis: Rebirth.**

**I tried to put links to the above named Authors/stories - they were filtered out**

36 – Skirmish in the Alley

Robbie asked, "Dan, have you been holding out on us … is Hermione really a Witch?" Meanwhile Emma and Janet were looking between each other and each others daughters and occasionally at the young man standing beside Hermione, holding her hand.

"Gabrielle Delacour will not stop talking about 'ow 'e," Jeannette was now pointing at Harry, "Saved 'er life een zee Tournament."

"Oh for Merlin's sake … Gabrielle's life was never in any real danger during the Tournament," said Harry, "I simply took the instructions too literally … the Merpeople would have brought her back safely. Not that it mattered in the end." Harry looked very sad … he was thinking about Cedric again and how he died … 'kill the spare' that's all Cedric was to Voldemort, a spare, and for that, Cedric died. Hermione sensed his remorse and found her arm wrapping around Harry's waist ... she looked up at him as if to say 'you can't take the blame for everything that happens', and pulled him closer, tight against herself.

"Merpeople?" Janet said in a surprised, curious voice.

"Yes, certainly … they live at the bottom of the Black Lake …" Hermione began. Hermione knew for certain that Jeannette was also a Witch, but what of her parents.

Emma interrupted, "The food is getting cold, and we can finish this discussion at the table." There were some exasperated sighs, but everyone found their place at the table. Hermione had to magic her cousin over to sit between Jeannette and Harry. In a whispered warning that followed, Hermione told her cousin in no uncertain terms that Harry was 'Private Property' and she would get 'Burned' if she thought otherwise. Between bites of food the conversation continued and just like Dan and Emma, Robbie and Janet were not allowed to tell anyone that their daughter was a Witch. They were given a made up story to tell others about a Swiss Boarding School.

Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade, it seemed, were almost as well known in the French magical world as they were in England though the French had their own Wizarding villages and shopping areas. Jeannette wanted to go there so they all agreed to go there the following morning … just to look around.

- - - - - - - -

Later that night, in Oxford, sleeping arrangements were re-organized. Robbie and Janet used Harry's room, Jeanette was in Hermione's room, presumably with Hermione, and Harry had the sofa in the living room. When asked by Emma, Harry said he was fine with the sofa, it was comfortable and with a pillow and blanket he would be content. The house was a comfortable temperature and certainly not draftee like the old castle. He could have, but didn't, say anything about missing Hermione's comforting presence.

- - - - - - - -

Tues Aug 26th

After Harry did an enlarging charm on the inside of Dan's car, they drove in from Oxford. While passing through London they briefly stopped at a few of the tourist traps on their way to the Leaky Cauldron and arrived near enough to mid day that food was the first topic of conversation once Robbie and Janet were assisted inside. Dan and Emma had been there many times before and knew the drill … just follow Hermione, she could see the door. Once inside they were past the anti-Muggle wards and made their way to some empty tables. Harry hovered three tables together using his wand. Once they decided what to order, Harry made his way up to the Bar and spoke to Tom, placing the order.

Harry turned and was about to return to their table when he heard the unmistakable sounds of spell fire coming from the archway entrance to Diagon Alley. A Witch he recognized from his first trip here with Hagrid stumbled into the tavern, it was Doris Crockford, and she whispered, "Death Eaters … a couple of dozen," before collapsing to the floor in an expanding pool of blood. Harry grabbed a dirty glass from the bar, starred at it a moment while muttering 'portus' under his breath. He placed the glass in Doris' hand as the blue glow faded and a few seconds later she was gone to Hogwarts hospital wing.

In a mad panic, the Pub's patrons made a dash out the door to Muggle London. Harry couldn't see Hermione in the chaos, but tried through their mind link to have her keep her relatives calm and seated at the table. After Doris had left Harry had conjured a thick stone wall between the Pub and the Alley entrance to give them some time to organize.

"Dobby," Harry called, and seconds later when the Pub was mostly cleared out the little House Elf appeared. Hermione got everyone up and together while Harry hustled Dobby over to them.

"Aren't you all leaving too?" Asked Tom as he was about to head into a back room.

"In a minute Tom … you go ahead, we'll be fine." Harry replied at the receding back of Tom the barman. He then turned to speak to the Elf, "Dobby, will you please take these five to the Gryffindor Common Room at Hogwarts where they'll be safe?" Harry indicated with his hands the four parents and Jeannette. "Then tell the Headmistress that there are Death Eaters in Diagon Alley and I've sent a victim to the Hospital Wing."

The teens saw the look on Dan and Emma's faces and Hermione took her Mother's hand saying, "We'll be along in a few minutes, Harry just wants to be sure a couple of friends are alright." She didn't say that those friends were at the far end of the Alley, in a joke shop, and they would probably have to fight their way down to them.

Hermione let go of her Mother's hand as Dobby said, "Theys will all be safe for you Master Harry and Miss Grangy." With a snap of his fingers and a loud 'crack' Dobby and the five were gone.

"That was what you had in mind … wasn't it dear?" Hermione said as she jabbed him in the side with her elbow.

"Oww … something like that, yes dear" responded Harry, "Do you feel like testing our new skills on a few Death Eaters?"

"I'm certainly not going to let you have all the fun yourself," she replied, "we stay together, side by side."

"I'll block, you attack, break their arms and summon their wands," Harry said as he banished the stone wall blocking their way to the entrance of Diagon Alley. The archway was open and Harry could see several bodies lying on the cobblestone walkway along with overturned tables, chairs and shopper's purchases lying abandoned. Harry pulled up his strongest shield, not knowing what spells were being cast, they both had their wands in one hand and a conjured replica in the other so as to not give away their use of wandless magic.

Most of the Death Eaters were near the entrance of Knockturn Alley suggesting they were entering through a shop in the dark alley. It didn't take long after Harry and Hermione cleared the archway before they were noticed. Hermione, sending reductor curses, bone breakers and stunners at the Death Eaters attracted their attention very quickly and the loose wands all summoned in her direction pointed at their problem. The DEs retaliated with a vengeance, Harry was blocking what he could and levitating the rubble around him to intercept the spells he couldn't block. The DEs formed a ragged line across the alley and focussed their attention on the two teens while reinforcements trickled in through Knockturn Alley. As fast as Hermione could take them out, their reinforcements were keeping their numbers fairly constant and they were advancing on the pair. Harry hadn't recognized Bella or Lucius or any of the other senior Death Eaters, but they could very well be orchestrating this from behind the lines. Harry lost his concentration for a moment when he was running short of items to block the unforgivables that were sporadically coming their way and a pair of curses got through. Hermione blocked one, but didn't see the blue beam that deflected off the storefront window until it was too late.

Hermione went down and Harry was pissed … supremely pissed … he could feel her mind and he could sense her injuries were not too severe, but he needed to end this quickly and get her out of here. First he needed to borrow some magic from her.

Harry severed the bits of grass from the ground between the cobbles and around a tree near him and levitated the grass to chest height. He increased its mass a thousand fold then sent the sharp blades at bullet like speed towards the wall of Death Eaters. While the grass was still moving, small and large rocks, the cobbles from the street, lifted into the air to follow the grass at the same breakneck speed. Magical shields work well enough against magical spells and most of the Death Eaters thought of nothing else, but projectiles, similar to muggle bullets need physical intervention to stop their progress. The Death Eaters robes were not nearly adequate to stop the blades of grass that sliced through them and cut deeply into their targets. The rocks that followed, from bullet size to bludger size cobbles, in combination with the grass, took out more than half of Tom's troops.

Aurors and Order members started to appear on both sides of the alley and kept the remaining DEs busy while Harry summoned Fawkes and conjured a thick stone wall to shield the two of them from more harm … then he bent down to check on Hermione. He carefully turned her over as Fawkes arrived, there wasn't much bleeding, but through her torn shirt Harry could see a large bruise on her left side and figured there were probably some broken ribs under it. Fawkes did what he could do with his tears and Harry knew that Poppy would have to set the broken bones. Harry returned the magical energy he borrowed from Hermione and a few seconds later her eyes fluttered open, followed shortly after by a groan from the pain of the broken ribs. When Hermione tried to focus on Harry her gaze was redirected to the scowling Headmistress standing over them.

"If you two ever pull a stunt like this again, I'll have you mopping dungeon floors for a month … do I make myself clear?"

"Yes Ma'am, perfectly," said Harry, "Hermione needs to see Madam Pomfrey, I think she has some broken ribs."

Minerva turned to Fawkes who was on the ground beside Hermione and gave him instructions to take Hermione to the Hospital Wing and make sure Madam Pomfrey knows she is there. Hermione took hold of Fawkes proffered tail feathers and was gone in a flash of red flame.

"Professor, I … I'd like to be with Hermione …" Harry stuttered.

"You're not injured too, are you Mr. Potter?" Asked the Headmistress.

"No Professor … I'm fine." Said Harry.

"Good, I'll let you go in a minute … did you conjure this stone wall?"

"Yes Professor," he replied.

Without telling him that she tried to banish it already and failed, (Harry was starting to give her an inferiority complex) Minerva asked, "Will you please remove it … it's safe out there, most of the DEs left when the Aurors and the Order arrived … other than the twenty or so that the two of you incapacitated. The Aurors are taking them away now."

Harry's gaze ran across the base of the wall before returning to the centre and following the wall to its top. The wall began to vanish from the bottom up like someone slowly raising a blind. Minerva shook her head in amazement before noticing that Harry now looked exhausted. He had pushed so much of his energy into Hermione to bring her around and then banishing the wall, left him wasted. Minerva located Hermione's wand amongst the thirty of forty wands scattered around their feet, summoned it and handed it to Harry. She then summoned what looked like a piece of broken window frame and turned it into a portkey, Harry watched the distinctive blue aura appear and vanish. "This will take you to the Gryffindor Common Room, I'm sure her parents are worried about both of you." Minerva said as she handed Harry the portkey. After she let go of the portkey, Harry felt the familiar tugging sensation behind his stomach and then the inevitable crash landing that, fortunately, was cushioned by a familiar old armchair. Minerva collected the remaining Death Eater's wands and handed them off to Mad-eye who had by then approached her.

Before he had taken more than a breath he was surrounded by those he thought of as family and they were asking questions so fast he could barely understand, 'Where have you been?', 'Where's Hermione?', 'What took you so long?', 'What happened?', and again 'Where's Hermione?'

Harry managed to extricate himself from the mushy armchair as he said, "Follow me to the Hospital Wing, she'll probably be trying to escape from Madam Pomfreys' clutches by the time we get there." Emma squeaked in horror and Janet gasped, Jeannette looked quite shocked, the two men groaned, but they all followed him as he made his way out through the portrait of the Fat Lady. Tired as he was, he desperately wanted to see Hermione for himself, he slowed for nothing, and the others were jogging to keep up. When he burst through the Hospital doors, Hermione was sitting up on a nearby bed, the one Harry usually ended up on, bright eyed and bushy haired as if nothing at all had happened. Someone had found her a clean top to replace the bloodied, torn one. Harry knew that was a good thing, because Dan and Emma wouldn't see the dramatic evidence of his failure to protect their daughter … the love of his life. Harry ran to her as fast as his tired legs could carry him … and as they neared each other their arms stretched out in anticipation. He gingerly wrapped his arms around her shoulders expecting her ribs to still be tender, he knew from past Quidditch experience that his ribs would still be tender. Harry often wondered if Madam Pomfrey left them that way on purpose, as a lesson, not painfully sore, just tender. Words weren't necessary between them, they could read each other like open books. Harry was trying to apologize to her for letting her down and not keeping her safe while she was trying to tell him it wasn't his fault and she would never have let him go out there alone without first having to fight her into submission. Hermione proved to be more stubborn than Harry; he finally gave up and crawled onto the bed, lying down behind her, holding her hand.

Madam Pomfrey was busy a few beds away hovering over the only other patient, the older Lady that burst into the Pub announcing the Death Eaters, Hermione didn't know her name. Madam Pomfrey had said that a portkey had brought her in earlier and she was in very serious condition.

Until now, Hermione was concentrating on Harry so much she wasn't able to pay proper attention to her parents and family until Harry crawled around behind her and dozed off. Since they hadn't been getting any answers they were now all talking at once and demanding responses. Hermione raised her hand and began to shower them with red and gold sparks … they quickly quieted and backed away, Jeannette was extremely impressed … of course she had no idea what her cousin was actually capable of. Hermione began explaining, "We got into a little skirmish in Diagon Alley and I got a bit careless …"

Unnoticed, Minerva had walked up behind them and interrupted Hermione's fairy tale with some of the truth, "The two of them," she said indicating Harry and Hermione, "Had taken on over forty Death Eaters by the time I and others arrived to help. We now have half of them in custody thanks entirely to their efforts, and most of those need far more medical attention than Hermione here needed. They probably saved hundreds of shoppers from death and injury. 'Little Skirmish', you call it … If you're going to tell tall tales like that to your parents young lady, I may have to revoke your Head Girl status." Minerva had a smile on her face as she walked over to inquire of Poppy, the condition of her old friend, Doris, the other patient.

The exasperated looks on the four adults faces was embarrassing her. "Alright," she started again, "Harry is very good at duelling and magical fighting …"

Minerva happened to be coming back past them at that time and caught the new beginning that Hermione was spouting. The Headmistress cleared her throat quite loudly as she walked past, interrupting Hermione's marginally more accurate tale.

"Oh alright then … we're both damn good at duelling and I wouldn't even consider letting him have all the fun by himself!" Emma was shocked at her daughter's language, but more surprised when Hermione spoke louder and asked Minerva, "Are you happy now?" Minerva turned her head, nodded her approval, and smiled back before leaving the Hospital Wing. Hermione continued on with the bare naked truth until she got to the point where she was blind sided by a curse that Harry wasn't able to block.

Hermione told them that Madam Pomfrey wasn't going to let her out for an hour or so to give the potions time to finish their work. She could ask Dobby to find them some food to replace the lunch that was so rudely interrupted and then maybe show them around the castle a bit until she was released, then they could continue their trip to Diagon Alley. Everyone agreed and Hermione called for Dobby.

A few minutes later Dobby had happily trundled the family off to the kitchens to find food, Madam Pomfrey had apparently done all she could for Doris and before leaving, told Hermione to lie down and rest for a while. As soon as Poppy was out of sight Hermione willingly complied, she twisted around, pulling Harry's hand that was holding on to hers around her neck as she settled into her favourite position. Her good side was on the bed, the rest of her was leaning over Harry with her head resting on his shoulder. He was warm and comfortable to rest against, she didn't intend to fall asleep, but the rhythm of his breathing and the rise and fall of his chest soon lulled her into unconsciousness. She dreamed of her and Harry and their statistically probable two point six children.

Her dream had managed to migrate into Harry's subconscious mind and after Poppy woke them up, checked them both over and kicked them out, Harry had to ask, though in a soft, tender voice, "Where in the world did you come up with two and a half kids?" He remembered from the dream, a little boy with brown hair and green eyes and a bubbly little girl with long black hair and chocolate eyes, then a third child that appeared to be wrapped in an invisibility cloak from the waist up.

Hermione's eyes opened wide, "You saw that dream?" she questioned.

"I think you were pushing it at me, but I liked it." He said while squeezing her hand and smiling back at her. "Can I talk you into a full Quidditch team," he said with a smirk on his face, he figured he was treading on thin ice, but he couldn't resist. "We have two castles to fill up you know … well, actually three if you count this one." He added still smirking.

"If you want a Quidditch team, you can jolly well go out and buy one … and if you think I'm going to fill up this castle for you, you're going to quickly loose your man-bits … besides you probably won't want to put up with an irrational, pregnant wife more than once anyway, unless you're completely insane." She countered.

"Then I'm madly in love and completely insane." He responded and laughed maniacally.

Hermione frowned, laughed, then they hugged and kissed, and continued their journey to find their family. Jeannette had found the Library, it was easily twice the size of the one at Beauxbatons, she ran in and started looking through the titles, shelf by shelf.

Madam Pince, who was unpacking and cataloguing new books looked up and asked, "May I help you?"

"Are there any dangerous books on these shelves?" Queried Jeannette as she looked around the corner.

"No," responded Irma, "They are all in the Restricted Section at the back … you'll need permission to get any of them. The original question concerned the parents and the answer, thankfully, eased their minds considerably until the noise level in the back of the Library increased. Madam Pince noticed it as well and announced, "Someone is coming." The books used to act up when Albus was passing by, but now it was when Harry or Hermione were near. Irma sighed; this would be something new to get used to. Once the newcomers entered, the silence was deafening … the books knew, the pair didn't even have to enter the Restricted Section any more to quiet the old tomes.


	37. Chapter 37 Delores Demise

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the first 6 books in the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling belong to the aforementioned J. K. Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

I may from this point onward borrow a few places and names from the fabled 7th book by J. K. Rowling including but not limited to the given name of Luna's Father. I do this for convienience and not as a Spoiler or an indication that I agree in any way with that book's outcome.

The next chapter will Have a proper announcement in the "New/Updated" listing page.

**37 – Delores Demise**

Hermione had expected to find Jeannette in the library and from the sound of it she had been right in her guess. Jeannette liked books almost as much as Hermione, but boys distracted her easily. Since there were no boys around here this time of year, other than Harry, it would be books.

"Thank you Dobby," Hermione said, "We'll take it from here … Madam Pince, may we use the Restricted Section?"

"Of course dear, the Headmistress has given you free access to it.

"Thank you." Said Harry.

The seven of them made their way to the back with Hermione in the lead. As she approached the gate, the bolt slid aside and the gates opened wide allowing the group to continue through without stopping. When Hermione was half way down the aisle she spoke again, "Follow me and stay clear of the shelves, some of those books have been known to attack careless students." Jeannette, who was about to reach out to an interesting looking book pulled her hand back just in time as the book lunged and snapped at her. Hermione heard the shuffling noise followed by the snap, "The Monster Book of Monsters," Hermione quipped, "Third year text for Care of Magical Creatures." They continued down the aisle and around the corner. When they had all gathered around Rowena's portrait, Hermione stepped closer and moved her hand across it, everyone felt a breeze and it raised a small amount of dust into the air.

As Hermione stepped back Rowena woke up and a moment later stepped out of the portrait. She looked between Jeannette and Hermione for a moment before smiling. She then looked up at the two women and smiled even more. "Hermione dear," Said Rowena, "Thank you for bringing your family, from one daughter, we now have four, please come in … we'll have some tea and chat." Needless to say Jeannette and the four adults were a little mystified at the reference to four daughters, but they all followed Rowena and Hermione through the portrait. As they were ushered to their seats Rowena snapped her fingers and the tea cart slowly came to life and rolled over to their table. Hermione had started to explain that Rowena had referred to her as her daughter when they first met and she had apparently inherited control of this castle, something she had discussed with Rowena before she had the first of several meetings with the Board of Governors.

Many topics and a few hours later Harry had convinced them that Diagon Alley would probably be mostly closed down for repairs and they could, since it was now near supper time, make their way to the Patil's restaurant. They could all flash near there from Hogwarts by Phoenix.

- - - - - - - -

Upon entering the restaurant they were greeted by Mr. Patil who remembered them, except for the Lamondes of course, whom he had not seen before. Hermione requested a private room and they were led back to the same room they had been in for Harry's birthday dinner, almost a month before. Padma, who was cleaning another table at the time, waved to them as they passed nearby.

Parvati followed them in, and as the last person was seating, she closed the curtain behind her. "Hermione?" she said as if it were a question, then when Hermione looked at her, Parvati pointed her finger and flicked her wrist as if casting a spell.

"Yes, it's alright, everyone knows." Hermione said. Padma entered from the kitchen side at that moment and Parvati pulled her wand and cast several spells on the curtain to keep Muggles out and their conversations private.

Jeannette had caught the drift of the shorthand conversation and the flick of the wrist, she assumed that at least the twin girls were Witches because this definitely appeared to be a Muggle restaurant to her.

Introductions were made over the next few minutes and Harry suggested that since none of them really understood the menu, that the twins should make the selections for them. Padma asked, "The first … and last time you were here, the food you got was not spicy at all, I won't suggest that you try it the way we like it … but … some spices enhance the flavour and experience." There were no objections and the twins left to arrange the food selections.

- - - - - - - -

Meanwhile back in Little Hangleton, at Riddle Manor, Voldemort was in a towering rage, he couldn't understand how Dolohov and Pettigrew could manage to loose almost two dozen new recruits on a simple training mission to harass shoppers and merchants in Diagon Alley. The two senior Death Eaters had seen to the first batch of recruits and got them started terrorizing the merchants and shoppers then went back for more recruits. By the time they had returned the nearly forty trainees were locked in a deadly battle with a witch and Wizard too far away to identify. Dolohov cast a focussed bludgeoning curse that ricocheted off a shop window and hit the Witch. Moments later a third more of the trainees fell injured and bleeding to the pavement in one fell swoop. Dolohov then ordered all his trainees to use their emergency portkeys to return to Riddle Manor, leaving over twenty, by rough count, dead or badly injured trainees behind. "crucio … crucio … crucio," Voldemort repeatedly cast the torture curse at Dolohov and Pettigrew until they were unconscious and could feel no further pain. He still had no idea who his recruits had fought against, he assumed they must have been Aurors or Hit-Wizards, maybe his contacts inside the Ministry could find out.

- - - - - - - -

They all had an exciting day and sleep came quickly, unfortunately so did Harry's nightmares. Twice during the early part of the night Hermione rolled over towards Jeannette and snaked an arm and leg over her only to be woken up by a shocked Jeannette. Hermione ended up having to explain her typical sleeping arrangements with Harry, shocking her cousin. It was a while before Jeannette was settled enough to go back to sleep.

- - - - - - - -

Wed Aug 27th

Sometime around three in the morning Hermione became restless and started lashing out with her arms and legs as if she were in a fight with someone. Jeannette, after being hit and kicked several times, finally woke Hermione up. A split second later, and without explanation, Hermione apparated out of there. Jeannette thought she might have heard a second fainter pop from downstairs somewhere … she got out of bed, grabbed her wand and Hermione's, and hobbled downstairs, Hermione had managed to give her shins a couple of solid kicks before being awakened.

Before Jeannette got to the bottom of the stairs she could see a faint flickering light from the living room … a few steps further she saw the candle floating above Harry. He was twisting and turning, wrapped up in the white sheet so tightly he could have passed for an Egyptian Mummy … had he been lying still. Harry appeared to be calming as Hermione knelt down on the floor next to him and flicked her hand towards Harry. The wet white sheet disappeared leaving a soaking wet Harry clad only in the pyjamas that stuck to him like they were vacuum formed around him. Hermione took his right hand in her left as her right hand moved to a position above Harry's feet. When Harry finally calmed down she siphoned the sweat off his body from his feet to the top of his head, her right hand slowly traversed above him. Jeannette let out a faint gasp after she entered the room. Her eyes had followed Hermione's hand up Harry's legs to his crotch and couldn't help but notice the bulge that defined what she assumed was Harry's currently dormant equipment.

Hermione looked up to see Jeannette watching … a flick of her head told Jeannette she should go back upstairs. Jeannette was confused, how did her cousin know he needed her. In Jeannette's hand was both of their wands, yet her cousin was doing some fairly advanced magic to dry out her boyfriend and make him comfortable. She just stood there, mouth gaping open and confused … true, Hermione was a few years older than she, but even so, none of her teachers or even her Headmistress ever used wandless magic … that she knew of. Then there was Hermione … not even concerned that she didn't have her wand in hand … and yesterday … she and Harry taking on a battle they could easily have walked away from … forty or more against two.

Jeannette came closer, putting Hermione's wand down on the small table at the end of the sofa and placed it lying beside Harry's wand. She was fairly certain now that the pair of them had only been using their wands because she was around and they wanted to appear normal … for a Witch and Wizard. This was after all the boy … the man … that won the Tri-Wizard Tournament, the best young Wizard that Hogwarts had to offer, and he certainly wouldn't pick a squib for a girlfriend, or so she assumed. As Jeannette was heading back to bed and before she was out of their sight, she turned to see Harry tucked into a freshly transfigured king size, four poster bed complete with a red quilt that sported a pair of golden Lions. The hangings around the bed were also red with gold fringing around the edges. Hermione had just climbed in beside him and with a flick of her wrist the pair were closeted away. Jeannette heard a faint 'night love' before the light from the candle went out and the room was quiet.

Jeannette hobbled back upstairs and made her way to the bathroom. She took some pain killers that she found in the medicine cabinet and once they started to help she went back to bed. While she was waiting for the medication to take full effect she couldn't help but be amazed at how easily her cousin, unconcernedly, climbed into bed with Harry and wondered what would happen in the morning.

- - - - - - - -

Janet and Emma were first downstairs in the morning and marvelled at the four poster bed with bright red hangings that they found in the living room. They could hear nothing from beyond the hangings nor could they open them. Emma suspected that she didn't really want to open them, especially with her sister present, she would have to explain too much about allowing the kids to do what they wanted. Technically they were of age and equivalent to being married in their magical world. She was sure that her daughter would have the sense to appear from upstairs. Emma had intentionally steered her sister away from looking into the girl's bedroom upstairs, just in case there was only one of them in Hermione's bed … or one too many. Emma was sure that Hermione had … what was the term … transfigured … the missing sofa into a four poster bed. The telltale evidence was the fringing on the bottom edges of the hangings, a finishing touch that Hermione favoured on that kind of thing.

Janet was no one's fool, she had also noticed the fringing and the other ornate details in the bed itself, and what other reason would there be for the hangings to be magically sealed. Janet knew she shouldn't say anything, but she also knew that Emma steered her away from the girl's room and this was probably why. "How long have they been sleeping together?"

Harry and Hermione had both been awakened by the creaking of the bottom stair and were watching each other guiltily. Hermione now wished she hadn't given herself away with the details in the bed. The thoughts of how her Mother could possibly answer that question and make it sound reasonable, and worry about what Aunt Janet would think of her now, were circling through her mind. Harry gave her a gentle, reassuring squeeze and a mental nudge to apparate upstairs.

Emma sighed, "Since earlier this summer," she responded to Janet, then continued before her sister could speak, "When Harry turned seventeen he inherited the title of Lord Gryffindor and that same day Hermione became Lady Gryffindor. It's supposed to be a secret for now, they plan to have a proper wedding after graduation." Emma had prepared that story as soon as she knew that her sister was coming. It was entirely the truth, though it did leave out some details.

Janet looked at her sister, a shocked expression on her face, then blurted, "Lord and Lady?"

Emma nodded her head, "And they have the passports and credit cards to go along with it." She sighed. Just then rustling could be heard within the bed and the sounds of the hangings opening on the far side.

Harry rolled out and stood facing the bed, watching it make itself … perfectly. Hermione had, half a minute before, changed into Caledfwlch and nibbled his ear before flashing upstairs to her bedroom. The rest of the hangings were then thrown open by Harry and he acknowledged the Mothers, saying, "Good Morning ladies." After picking up his and Hermione's wands he gave them a casual flick over his shoulder then nodded his head as he headed for the downstairs bathroom.

Janet watched him and watched the four poster return to a sofa … thought for a moment, then said to Emma, "He's not normal is he?" Then quickly she added, "I mean … shouldn't he have needed to point his wand properly to do that? That's what Jeannette told us …"

"He and Hermione have been doing some incredible magic all summer," responded Emma, "Since they came back from school … I think he taught her some of it … or they taught each other." Emma thought for a moment then continued, "It had something to do with not being caught doing underage magic and not being able to use magic at Harry's home … we can ask at breakfast."

Janet and Emma started organizing breakfast. Harry arrived in the kitchen before it was really underway and offered to help. In reality he more or less took over with Janet and Emma watching in amazement. While he used real food, the pots, pans, fires and whatnot were conjured out of thin air. By the time Hermione arrived, the kitchen looked similar to Harry's birthday morning.

A soft tapping sound became apparent at the kitchen door, Hermione made her way to the door and was looking out through the window when a tiny Scoops Owl that resembled Pigwidgeon, popped into view. Hermione opened the door a few inches and the little guy dashed inside fluttering around madly and just out of reach. Hermione noticed the note tied to its leg but couldn't catch him. Pig flew near Harry, probably hoping for some bacon to eat. Harry watched and waited patiently then when Pig flew over, he jumped up and snatched the little owl from flight, and handed him to Hermione before turning back to breakfast.

Hermione rescued the note from Pig and fed him a piece of bacon after she let it cool. The note, when she unfolded it, simply said 'backdoor'. She made eye contact with Harry before she, with Jeannette following made their way to the back door. Flying around the bushes, trees and other obstacles, a little over a meter from the ground were an Eagle Owl and a Griffin, they appeared to be playing tag. Jeannette watched the pair in amazement as Hermione looked around. Suddenly there was a popping sound from behind the garden shed. She spotted a slightly tattered, rolled up newspaper on a chair near the door. Hermione picked up the paper and sat on the wicker chair. It turned out to be today's Daily Prophet with a picture of Delores Umbridge on the front page. The headline read 'Umbridge off to Azkaban – this time not for a visit'. The story below it in part read:

The former aid and Undersecretary to Ministers Fudge and Scrimgeour was found guilty of all charges in a session of the Wizengamot court that lasted late into the evening yesterday. The charges ranged from the illegal use of a 'Blood Quill' on students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry where she was the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor for nearly a year, also becoming the High Inquisitor and eventually the Headmistress when she forced Albus Dumbledore to hastily depart. Other charges included two attempted murders of Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived, first by sending Dementors from Azkaban, after him and secondly by attempting to destroy the house he was living in. She was also charged with death eater activities for indirectly passing information to and receiving instructions from 'He Who Must Not Be Named'. Under Veritaserum she admitted using of the Imperius curse several times and specifically on the Aurors accompanying her to kill Mr. Potter. She also admitted to attempting to use the Cruciatus curse on Mr. Potter while at Hogwarts School. Delores Umbridge, the last of her family line, was sentenced to life in prison in Azkaban. When it was determined that she was acting of her own accord in these matters, the contents of her family vault, that she no longer needs, was split up to cover the cost of her accommodations in Azkaban and as repayment to the students and staff of Hogwarts that she specifically mistreated.

Hermione had scanned the article quickly while Jeannette watched the game of tag end abruptly with the appearance of a tabby cat. Pigwidgeon, knowing when it was best to be scarce, and having finished all the bacon he could eat, zoomed out of the open back door and away into the sky as the owl and the pussy cat came to rest on the porch, looking up at Hermione. The Griffin stayed back a few meters, unsure of the unknown girl in the open doorway.

Hermione wondered for a moment why her friends did not change back to their human forms then realized they didn't know her cousin. She quickly sent a mental image of the scene to Harry before making introductions. "Relax everyone, this is Jeannette Lamonde, my cousin from France, she is about to start her second year at Beauxbatons and she's friends with Fleur's sister Gabrielle, her parents are inside and Harry is making breakfast, you're welcome to stay and eat.

Jeannette had never seen an Animagus transform before, she knew they existed. She stood there in stunned amazement when the three animals transformed back to their human forms. Hermione was watching Jeannette's reaction and snickered to herself. The stern looking older woman that had been a tabby cat spoke next, "Good morning Miss Lamonde, a pleasure to meet you, I am Professor McGonagall, the Headmistress of Hogwarts School." She turned her head momentarily to make sure Neville was still there before continuing, "Behind me, the Eagle Owl, is Mr. Neville Longbottom, boyfriend to the Griffin, Miss Ginerva Weasley who prefers to be called Ginny."

Jeannette was still in shock, Animagi were very rare and yet there they were standing right in front of her. She managed to mumble, "Three Animagi …"

Minerva attempted to correct her by saying, "Five if you count Harry and your cousin."

Jeannette looked at Hermione in total awe for a moment before Hermione spoke, "No … only me Professor, I make four." Apparently Tonks had been true to her word and hadn't said anything … even to Minerva. She knew it wouldn't take the Headmistress long to at least suspect, that Harry was a Metamorphmagus.

Harry had been listening in through Hermione's mind and suggested that she not say anything about him. Since she let the kneazle out of the bag anyway, he would morph into Neville because he could do that quickly, before they could make their way back to the kitchen. "What about Harry?" asked Minerva. Fortunately Minerva wasn't looking at the clown like grin on Tonks face. Neville and Ginny were also confused, they had arrived back home as Luna and Ron were leaving for two weeks with Luna's father. No more than the briefest of pleasantries were exchanged amongst the four.

"You'll see in a minute, let's go inside and have breakfast." Said Hermione as she turned her cousin around and marched her into the kitchen. The others followed. On the way in Minerva had been speculating to herself about the meaning behind Hermione's correction to four from five. She had just about come to the unlikely conclusion that Harry might be like Tonks, a Metamorphmagus and was considering all the havoc that Tonks had created with her Metamorphmagus abilities.


	38. Chapter 38 The Golden Egg

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the first 6 books in the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling belong to the aforementioned J. K. Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get. Beta'd by 'thescribbler', thank you.

Recap from the end of Chapter 37:

_Harry had been listening in through Hermione's mind and suggested that she not say anything about him. Since she let the kneazle out of the bag anyway, he would morph into Neville because he could do that quickly, before they could make their way back to the kitchen. "What about Harry?" asked Minerva. Fortunately Minerva wasn't looking at the clown like grin on Tonks face. Neville and Ginny were also confused, they had arrived back home as Luna and Ron were leaving for two weeks with Luna's father. No more than the briefest of pleasantries were exchanged amongst the four._

"_You'll see in a minute, let's go inside and have breakfast." Said Hermione as she turned her cousin around and marched her into the kitchen. The others followed. On the way in Minerva had been speculating to herself about the meaning behind Hermione's correction to four from five. She had just about come to the unlikely conclusion that Harry might be like Tonks, a Metamorphmagus and was considering all the havoc that Tonks had created with her Metamorphmagus abilities._

**38 – The Golden Egg**

Harry had quickly warned the two sets of parents as he morphed. The others, excluding Hermione, stopped dead in their tracks at the kitchen door when they realized that there was an extra Neville already in the kitchen who was, for lack of a better word, orchestrating the food preparation.

The bacon continued making its own way into and out of one frying pan and in the process being cooked. Eggs were breaking themselves over a grille and some were coming off over easy, scrambled, poached or in one case a Denver Omelette. He had found the tomato, ham, green pepper and cheese in the fridge for Dan's favourite breakfast. Harry had also found a heating charm that made perfect toast; it came out an even golden brown. By the time the first three plates had hovered over to the kitchen table, Hermione's entourage from the back yard had arrived at the kitchen door. Hermione quickly expanded the table and made places for them around it. Soon Harry, still resembling Neville, was carrying the last plate of food to the table for himself while everyone complimented his cooking. The conjured pots and pans from the cooking process were banished to the magical bit bucket … or wherever banished items went. Harry did have his wand in hand and appeared to be using it as he went about making breakfast, Jeannette however did watch carefully and noticed that there were no telltale sparks or light beams being emitted from his wand. Janet and Emma, like Jeannette, could see that while Harry was waving his wand around during the making of breakfast, it wasn't actually being used.

Jeannette was the first to say, "If you are going to make the other kids in school think you still need your wands you should actually use them and not just wave them around." Hermione had realized this from watching Harry make breakfast though Harry thought he had done a convincing job of pretending to use his wand, until it was pointed out that he wasn't.

During the ensuing conversation between Tonks and Minerva, of the properties of _Animagus _and _Metamorphmagus_ transformations that had Hermione's absolute attention as well as everyone else's, Harry changed back into himself.

Since the fight in Diagon Alley and the trip to Hogwarts, Jeannette had been looking through Hermione's school texts and considering the possibility of asking her parents to allow her to go to Hogwarts. Jeannette had several good arguments worked out, the Library was much bigger, the DADA course was much better, Harry and even poor Cedric had easily done twice as good as Fleur in the Tri-Wizard Tournament and of course Hermione would be there if she had any problems. She didn't think it would be in her best interests to mention that Hogwarts had more boys … well Hogwarts had more than twice as many students as Beauxbatons so naturally there would be more boys. Her parents would save some money because the tuition at Hogwarts was not as expensive as at that very elegant and pompous French Palace.

During a lull at the end of Professor McGonagall's conversation about transformations Jeannette voiced her question to the Headmistress, "What requirements would I have to meet to be able to transfer to Hogwarts for my second year?"

The question caught the Headmistress right out of position, guarding the wrong hoop so to speak, though it barely showed for the briefest moment. Minerva first looked at the astonished expressions on the parents' faces then she replied to Jeannette, "The first thing you'll need is your parent's permission and from the looks of it you need to talk to them. Next I'll need a transcript of your marks and payment of tuition fees. You'll need books of course for second year and you may need some of the first year books as well. If I remember correctly the _Defence Against the Dark Arts_ curriculum at Beauxbatons is … how do I put this politely … much easier than the same course at Hogwarts. Harry and Hermione should be able to help you catch up with what you have missed, they are the best in the school and very good at teaching.

Harry and Tonks had scooted off into a corner and arranged for Tonks to meet Aunt Petunia when she arrived back from her cruise. Tonks had a picture of Petunia, so recognizing her wouldn't be a big problem, but he thought his Aunt may baulk at going with someone she doesn't recognize. It was decided that Tonks would morph into Hermione for the meeting.

- - - - - - - -

Thurs Aug 28th

Over the next few days the teens took Jeannette to Hogwarts and taught her some of the defensive magic that she had not been taught in her first year at Beauxbatons, however there was no convincing her parents to let her change schools. They felt it was just too dangerous in Britain right now, that and the idea that a few students were supposed to defeat this terrorist was just pushing credibility for them.

- - - - - - - -

When the teens arrived at Hogwarts, they always checked in with the Headmistress. Today they got news, both good and bad. The bad news, Draco Malfoy, for some insane reason, was being allowed to return, with some restrictions. The good news, Mad-eye and Remus would be available tonight to help retrieve Ravenclaw's Wand.

"When I mentioned that Hermione found out how to get in and out of the wand shop and where to find a copy of Rowena's wand from Mr. Ollivander, they wanted to know why they were kept in the dark about the fate of Frisel, and Florean came into the conversation as well." Said Minerva. "I told them plainly that I had only just found out and I couldn't very well trust sending those details by owl post that anyone could intercept. Naturally they agreed, and they both asked to bring Frisel along, thus simplifying the process of gaining access to the shop."

"Yes I was thinking about that too … but we don't want Mr. Ollivander to be seen, or to be in any danger." Responded Hermione.

"Mr. Ollivander is a very accomplished Wizard, had he been interested in politics or teaching he would have given Albus a run for his money. If you can bring Harry and Frisel to the Weasley's shop just after dark, Remus and Mad-eye will be waiting for you." Said Minerva. "Use Fawkes rather than give away your Animagus form."

Jeannette looked again at her cousin, she knew Harry could morph into anyone and at the house Hermione had indicated she had an Animagus, but never said what it was. Minerva caught the look in Jeannette's eyes and understood. "Miss Lamonde … it would be very dangerous to the safety of your cousin and her friends if you were to reveal the fact that they are Animagi and that Harry is a Metamorphmagus. I won't ask for a Witches Oath, but it is that important … do you understand?"

"Yes Ma'am, I won't tell a soul." She replied.

Fawkes had been on his perch having a snack and listening in on their conversation. Harry looked at the brilliant red and gold bird that used to be Godric Gryffindor and they both made eye contact. An image and message formed in Harry's mind and Fawkes understood, his mission was to relay the message to Mr. Ollivander to be ready to leave as the daylight ebbed.

They left the Headmistress's office and made their way to the Room of Requirement for Jeannette's Defence lessons. Jeannette was just as quick to learn spells as Hermione, when she wanted to concentrate, but her mind was sidetracked this morning trying to figure out what Hermione's Animagus form was. Before lunch Hermione called a halt to the training session and confronted her cousin.

It didn't take long to determine that it was the question of Hermione's Animagus form that was distracting Jeannette. Hermione transformed as she jumped into the air and took flight. After a few circuits of the room she landed on Jeannette's shoulder. Though never having seen one except in books, she recognized that the bird was a Phoenix. The lessons then moved along at a much faster pace until they stopped for lunch.

- - - - - - - -

After lunch in the Great Hall where Jeannette met some of the professors, a few had not as yet returned, they went back to the Room of Requirement where they continued the Defence lessons until mid afternoon. About three they decided they had had enough. Jeannette was just about asleep on her feet, she had been working very hard. They made their way to the Heads suite and dropped onto the sofa. Hermione made a little fire in the fireplace, mostly for looks and when they turned back to Jeannette, she was fast asleep. They had been pushing her along a steep learning curve and it was bound to take its toll, but she was picking up everything very quickly. Jeannette looked comfortable where she was so they carefully got up and went to Harry's room before removing their school robes.

They called Dobby and asked him to make sure they were up by half of five to get home for supper. They still had on their jeans and T-shirts that were under the robes when they climbed onto Harry's bed.

Harry thought better of it for a moment and set up; taking off his t-shirt. He loved feeling Hermiones' face against his chest and being naked from the waist up was just more comfortable.

Harry lay back again and Hermione climbed over him and assumed her usual position leaning on his left side with her left hand on his chest. They both had an arm around the other when her head found its niche on his shoulder.

They lay there for quite a while saying nothing and enjoying the peace and quiet. It was in moments like this that they both wondered how they managed to survive all the years until this summer ... or more to the point why they bothered to survive without each other. Hermione manoeuvred herself around so she could play with the animated Hungarian Horntail image that Harry kept morphed on his chest.

The animation was a bit jumpy still, but the image was clear and near life-like, nesting on a clutch of eggs. Every once in a while when the Dragon moved you could see a golden egg hidden in the clutch. Hermione was using her finger, dragging it along Harry's chest and distracting the Dragon. If she wasn't careful and quick enough the Dragon's head would actually become three dimensional, lifting out of Harry's chest and grabbing onto Hermione's finger. It reminded Hermione of the Alien bursting out of someone's chest in a movie of the same name. When she had moved the dragon off the nest enough, she tried to touch the egg, half the time the Dragon won by hiding the egg with a wing, a leg or by grabbing her finger with its head. This game had started last night, Harry had finally figured out a few obscure morphing secrets, with Hermione's help of course, and had been able to animate the coloured image of the Horntail.

Originally it had been a male Horntail and he called it Norbert, last night, after he animated it, Hermione suggested he change it to a female Horntail and add the clutch of eggs, she had figured out how to make a game out of it.

They were still playing when Jeannette wandered in through the loo door, rubbing the back of her neck. She had wandered into Hermione's room first and finding no one there had come through the connecting bathroom. They both heard the door open. Jeannette cautiously looked around the door and met Harry's eyes looking back at her with a grin on his face. As she took in the entire scene she was startled to realize that the pair of them appeared to be floating just above the bed … her mouth dropped open in surprise.

Jeannette had overheard some of the older girls at school talking one day about being with the right guy, with enough magic … but no … that wasn't right either, they weren't making love and there were no small items floating in the air. They were just laying on top of the bed, fully clothed … well … their school robes, as well as a t-shirt, were draped over a chair near the desk. Each one's attention was held by whatever was happening on Harry's chest, other than Harry's attention being momentarily diverted when she entered the room. She looked again … the pair of them were floating. Harry looked up and noticed the surprise and then the confusion that was apparent on Jeannette's face as she approached the bed.

He averted direct eye contact, he didn't really want to know what was going on in her mind. Hermione could see her come nearer in his mind and the look of surprise, and then the wonder in her eyes as she realized that they were still floating. During that brief span of inattention on Harry's part, Hermione had managed to touch the golden Egg twice more bringing the score in her favour by 481 to 480 at which point she quit. It was nearly time to go anyway, or so she said to Harry.

Jeannette was still more interested in the build of Harry's chest than the explanation her cousin was making until Hermione reached out with her magic and wandlessly summoned Harry's T-shirt and took away the eye candy Jeannette was enjoying. She had watched her cousin gain her last two winning points although she didn't realize it until the game was explained to her. Jeannette had never seen or heard of anything like that before except in a video game … then the name _Game Boy_ came to mind and she giggled.

Hermione gave Harry a brief hug which he reciprocated, and then she gave a light push, rolling off his side towards the wall. They slowly settled down onto the bed before realizing they had arms trapped beneath each other. Hermione sighed and attempted to lift herself up ... Harry assisted in rolling her directly on top of himself, and in the process, lingering for a moment to kiss her as he continued the roll ... freeing her arm and helping her sit up on the edge of the bed.

- - - - - - - -

They arrived back in Hermione's bedroom, in Oxford at five thirty as promised. Their arrival had not gone unnoticed and Janet passed Harry on her way upstairs, to find the girls washing up and laughing at something. Janet knew that her daughter thought Harry was someone special and she also knew that Hermione had already staked her claim, so it was a good sign that they were getting along. "So, what news have you ... How is Jeannette doing in her defence training?"

Hermione responded, "I think if we had another two days, as far as the practical is concerned, she'll be ready."

"And I've almost finished the first year text." Jeannette said brightly, "There's a lot in there that we don't learn at Beauxbatons." Then her expression became gleeful, "Mama, you must see Harry's dragon, it's so cute!"

Hermione groaned, she knew Harry would be more embarrassed than impressed. "I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Mama, these two ... they float ... in the air, they have ... so much magic, I've heard stories, but never believed it to be truly possible."

"You can levitate objects too, you've told me you can?" Janet queried.

"Non, non, you meeezzunerstan ..." Jeannette was getting frustrated, her point wasn't getting across and she didn't want to revert to French. Since she was five she had made a deal with her parents to speak to her Mother in English and her Father in French, unless she was talking to both together, then she picked the language. Thus she was quite fluent in both languages until she became excited or frustrated when it all mixed together.

"Take a few minutes to calm down, and then explain it to me." Janet responded, she could see in her daughter's expression that her mind was fighting for a way to explain something uniquely magical to her, a Muggle.

During supper the explanation was attempted again and with Dan's and Emma's help by recollecting the evening that Hermione's room was trashed, the point that Jeannette was trying to make about magically powerful couples, started to become clear.


	39. Chapter 39 Ravenclaw's Wand

Disclaimer: All characters from the first six books in the Harry Potter series by **Joanne K. Rowling,** **to whom I am deeply indebted, **belong to her exclusively; **© 2007,.** I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

Author's Note: I may from this point onward borrow a few places and names from the fabled 7th book by **J.K. Rowling, **including but not limited to the given name of Luna's Father. I do this for convenience and not as a Spoiler or an indication that I agree in any way with that book's outcome.

Not Another Author's Note: Many thanks to thescribbler for his kind assistance with this chapter. You the reader get to enjoy an extra 700 or so words and well as other corrections and enhancements.

**39 – Ravenclaw's Wand**

The discussions that evening twisted and turned through the realms of magic and an average muggle's understanding of it, until the sun began to set. Harry had mentioned during supper that he and Hermione needed to leave around this time to meet some friends in Diagon Alley. After begging everyones' forgiveness, the pair apparated to the Entrance Hall of Myrddin Castle where they expected to meet with Mr. Ollivander. Twitchie appeared within seconds to advise that Mr. Ollivander would be with them shortly.

Within five minutes Frisel had arrived, some questions and explanations were exchanged and Harry summoned Fawkes to take them to W³ in Diagon Alley.

Fred, George, Remus, Arthur and old Mad-eye Moody were waiting for them when they arrived. The idea of collecting Rowena Ravenclaw's old wand out of the shop window sounds easy when you say it fast, however there were several things that couldn't be allowed to happen, the most important was that Frisel ... Mr. Ollivander was not to be seen, not even to explain to the authorities why they were there. Harry made him a portkey to return him to Myrddin Castle in case there were any problems and it was in the pocket of his robes. Once the moon had slipped beyond the horizon, and it was as dark outside as it was going to get, they slipped out the back door of W³; behind a couple of recently emptied buildings, and to the back of Mr. Ollivander's Wand Shoppe. Once there, Frisel noticed his security charms had been activated at least once, which meant that it was likely that there was someone inside; held in a petrified state. Whoever it was could have been there for almost a year, if they tried to force entry right after Frisel went into hiding. Frisel turned to the others and told them about the forced entry and there was a quick discussion on what to do with whoever they found. Since they were in a petrified state, they could be left there indefinitely, in which case they need do nothing, it would therefore depend on who they found. It would be safer to leave a Death Eater petrified until the end of the war, and then turn him over to the Aurors unless it was someone that could give them useful information.

Frisel then showed Hermione how to enter his Shoppe safely; as she was likely the only one of the group that could gain entrance by herself. Once inside, Hermione knew that the first order of business was to retrieve the duplicate wand. Frisel's great grandfather had made a duplicate wand over two hundred years ago specifically for the purpose of confusion. Only Rowena would be able to tell the pair apart because the copy would not be able to do some rare spells as well as her original.

Frisel and Hermione carefully made their way to the front window. They saw that there was a considerable dust accumulation on the counter top as well as all the horizontal surfaces. With a practiced hand, the old man showed Hermione the various traps and jinxes to get across the shoppe, and made her disable them. Harry was able to follow along in Hermione's mind and explain to Remus and Mad-eye what the jinxes were and what Hermione was doing to disable them. It didn't take long for Frisel to realize that for all practical purposes, Harry might just as well be there with him and Hermione. He was obviously there in her mind, if not in his body. The wandmaker thought to himself that this young couple could be fantastic wand makers, even better than he, if they didn't mind stepping away from the limelight of magical politics. Her brains and his influence could make them a powerful team - a force with which to be reckoned.

Seeing Hermione disarm or bypass all his traps and jinxes that they encountered without her wand; Frisel wondered how well Harry would have done. At the front window, there was enough light from the street lights in Diagon Alley to allow them to see quite well. Frisel scanned the old and discoloured pillow that was royal blue and the wand most carefully.

Harry, Remus and Mad-eye had been allowed enter the shop once all the traps had been disabled – but, being cautious, he asked that they stand back a few meters in case of any unexpected curses that Tom may have added. Other than magically dusting the wand and pillow over the years, Frisel could not remember actually picking it up since about the time Tom Riddle was there to get his first and only wand. However, he distinctly remembered Tom asking about the wand in the window several years later, and he had told Tom the wand's history and who it had originally belonged to. In hindsight, he knew that had been a big mistake.

To his consternation, Ollivander had found all of his usual jinxes in place, with another two to boot, the wand was now a portkey as well as a Horcrux.

Carefully as he was able, Hermiones' impromptu teacher again showed her how to find all his jinxes and how to see the lines and layers of magic which formed the two new ones. Mr. Ollivander opened the wand box and Hermione levitated the duplicate wand out of the box while Frisel levitated the ancient wand into the box and closed it. Hermione levitated the copy wand onto the pillow; then stepped back with the Wand Maker. Mad-eye was asked to make the wand now in the window a portkey to a jail cell in the Ministry. Once that was done, Hermione was asked to recreate the jinxes that safeguarded the wand in the window while Frisel explained to Harry, Mad-eye and Remus that the wand now in the box was a portkey as well as a Horcrux. They had all had nasty experiences with portkeys and weren't about to touch the wand itself. It should be safe enough as long as it is in the box.

On their way out, Hermione was asked to replace all the traps and jinxes they had disabled and she was free to add a few more if she wished. The last bit about adding more confused her until Frisel explained that he was hoping she and perhaps Harry would be interested in taking over the business one day. She added Harry's door sealing transfiguration to the front door while he explained that he and his ancestors as far back and even before Rowena had made pensieve memories explaining all that was known about wand making. There were over a thousand years of memories stored in a hidden niche in the north wall of the Shoppe's basement. The storage cell for intruders was in the south east corner of the same basement.

Harry now had the box with Ravenclaw's wand in it, and Hermione had replaced all of Mr. Ollivander's traps and Jinxes. When they entered the back room, Hermione sealed that doorway too. Frisel took a moment to examine her handy work and was duly impressed. When he told her so, she responded that she had picked up that trick from Harry who had managed to stump Professor McGonagall with it. Frisel could see what Hermione had done, Remus had seen it before and Mad-eye stepped closed to the door to examine it. After a minute of old Mad-eye poking his wand at the door, he too turned and nodded his approval. Frisel turned and they followed him through an archway that led to the basement staircase. There was no door, but Frisel halted and asked Harry and Hermione to examine the path ahead. The entrance to the basement did not appear to be guarded but they found several charms and jinxes that they would be faced with on their return from the basement. Mr. Ollivander confirmed their findings and explained what they would have to do to return to the main floor.

In the basement cell, they found Alecto and Amycus Carrow, a brother and sister Death Eater team. Alecto was the bright one of the pair and may have competed evenly with the intelligence of Gregory Goyle. They were both petrified in a kneeling position as if they were looking through a keyhole when they were frozen in place and transported to the cell. Mad-eye didn't expect to get any useful information out of that pair and considering the dust accumulation on them they had been there a while. There was no advantage to reviving them or sending them to the Ministry, they were safe and secure where they were.

Hermione led the group out of the basement, disabling the traps on the stairs and replacing them after everyone was back on the main floor. Ollivander had selected two very old-looking wand boxes from a small stash in the basement and put them in his pocket. As they left the Shoppe, Hermione replaced the traps and jinxes on the back door and made it look as if nothing had been disturbed other than the security traces had been reset to not show the previous attempted break-in.

When they arrived back at W³, Mr. Ollivander handed one wand box each to the teenagers. After a brief explanation that the contents were actually staffs or walking sticks, the teenagers were allowed to remove them from the box. Harry's, when distanced from the box, expanded to the full size of two meters long and looked identical in most respects to the one Salazar Slytherin carried in his portrait. It was twisted and gnarled like briar and looked much like a snake. Harry was initially put off by the snake like appearance and the eyeball in the socket at the top. The staff was nearly white in color - like the holly from which his wand was made and the yellow eye in the top of the staff was that of a Basilisk, that pointed straight up when the staff was held upright.

The core of the staff was the optic nerve connected to the eye. When Harry was shown how to grip the staff properly he felt a surge of magical energy; similar to when he first held his own wand, but much more intense. His hair stood on end and his skin felt like pins and needles were dancing over him. There seemed to be a rush of wind from somewhere, he heard it but couldn't feel it, the staff crackled with short lightning like bursts of electric blue arcs. Frisel nodded in approval.

Hermione's staff, once it was clear of the box, expanded too, it was a tad shorter than Harry's, but still about four inches taller that she was. It had what looked like a deep blue coloured crystal ball at the top held in place with a jewelled silver web – that looked like Faberge egg to her. Hermione copied Harry's grip and when she stood it upright and rested its base on the floor, both she and the staff glowed an iridescent blue. Her long tawny hair appeared to blow outwards in a non-existent breeze and she felt herself tingle all over with a surge of immense power.

Frisel was pleased with the results; he had picked the right staffs for these two. The one Hermione had, he thought, was a bit of an odd duck, The blue ball was a magically engorged Raven's eye with the optic nerve fused to a griffin's heart string, a unique combination that could only be effective in the hands of someone both brave and clever.

Both staffs were now joined to their new owners and could be wielded by no one else. Very few Wizards throughout history had such a staff because they were so rare. Each Wand Maker that assumed possession of Ollivander's since 382 BC had made one and only one staff as a rite of passage from Apprentice to Master. No Ollivander had ever sold a staff, they had been given to those few select individuals who deserved or needed them. There were still ten boxed staffs in the basement that indicated the enormity of giving two away. It was unusual to give away one in a lifetime let alone two in one evening.

Frisel had Harry and Hermione hold hands, then performed a wandless spell that would allow them both to handle each other's staff without the staff protecting itself and attacking back.

Remus and Mad-eye both knew well enough to not handle either staff. Neither one ever wondered why the kids were singled out for this honour. The staffs would never have reacted if they didn't belong to this young couple. Much like a wand, a staff picked its owner and had it not been the right time, place and person, the staff would never have expanded beyond the size of its box. A carrying case, like a holster for a gun, was also in the each box, the case could be attached to the owner, or his or her clothing with a simple sticking charm. The staff would shrink to fit in the case with a simple, silent command.

Fred and George watched in astonishment as their favourite couple brandished their staffs for the first time and the resultant mating of staff to owner, a rare sight in anyone's lifetime. Congratulations were exchanged and the group made ready to leave for Hogwarts. Harry and Hermione placed their staffs in their cases and then into the boxes before Hermione summoned Fawkes. The five of them departed Diagon Alley and flashed into the Headmistress office a moment later. Harry handed over Rowena's boxed wand to the Headmistress after explaining that it was not only a Horcrux but also a portkey. Hermione asked that it be taken to Rowena and that Rowena and Salazar should check it out most carefully to determine the correct course of action.

Moody and Remus departed by Floo from the Headmistress's office leaving Harry and Hermione to see that Mr. Ollivander returned home safely and then get themselves back to Oxford. It was now well after midnight and they were all tired.

_Friday, August 29th_

After Jeannette's DADA lesson the five of them, Ginny and Neville were helping today, made their way to the Headmistresses office in hopes of trying the Sorting Hat on the still hopeful Second Year. Minerva was not there, but Hermione's Head Girl badge allowed them entrance to the office. They spoke with Dumbledore's portrait briefly and he had no objection to them trying the hat on Jeannette as long as the hat was agreeable. Hermione pulled out the three legged stool while Harry stretched to take the hat down from the top of the cabinet where it usually resided. During the brief time while the Heads were bringing together the required equipment Albus explained to Jeannette the qualities that the four Founders required of the students in their houses.

Harry initially placed the Sorting Hat on the stool as Albus directed him to do and they waited for it to say something. If it was agreeable it would make a speech of some sort and then they could proceed to put it on Jeannette's head. No sooner done than said, the hat began to speak. It proclaimed the qualities that the four Founders required in their students, though much more poetically than Albus had done a minute earlier. Harry lifted the hat, Jeannette sat on the stool, and Harry gently lowered the hat to her head. The old hat hummed and hawed for what seemed the longest time before it straightened up and proclaimed, "Ravenclaw!" The hat then slumped back down into its normal posture and remained quiet. They had all hoped for Jeannette to be in Gryffindor with them … alas it wasn't to be.

Minerva returned just as they were putting the things away, Jeannette saw the Headmistress's curious gaze first and explained what they had just done and that she was sorted into Ravenclaw.

"Do you have your parents' permission yet, or are you just trying to make a more convincing argument?" asked Professor McGonagall.

Jeannette looked skittish so Hermione spoke up, "Her father is close to giving in and her Mother is not too far behind. With persistence it may yet happen, though probably at the last minute."

Minerva made her way to her desk, picked up an envelope, and turned to face Jeannette. "I asked Madam Maxime to send me your grades just in case I needed them. In the note she sent back, she seemed quite disappointed that you might be transferring. You are one of the best in your year. I hope you will maintain that standard should you manage to convince your parents to allow the transfer. This envelope contains your Hogwarts acceptance letter, your book list, train ticket and the transfer documents for your parents to sign."

"Hermione, will you let me know if I am to expect Jeannette, just send a message on the ring." Asked Minerva, Jeannette looked thoroughly confused about the reference to the ring.

_Saturday, August 30th_

Saturday's weather was miserable. Dark clouds, rain and strong winds pummelled the whole of Scotland and made walking the school grounds difficult and unpleasant. There were two meetings called for this day, both at Hogwarts. The morning meeting was for the Order of the Phoenix to go over security measures for the First of September's trip of The Hogwarts Express. The afternoon meeting was a mandatory meeting of Hogwarts Staff and to their consternation, Harry and Hermione were required to attend both.

Since the Carriages were already prepared for the students' arrival in a few days, Hagrid spent his afternoon hitching Thestrals to ten of them and leading them into Hogsmeade to pick up the Order members that would be travelling through the small Wizarding village. Some order members would be flying in while others would apparate directly to the gates and walk in from there. It was the first serious, mandatory meeting of the Order in over a year. Professor McGonagall had shown them the agenda and explained why the meeting had been moved to the Great Hall. The new leaders were to be introduced and everyone's vows reaffirmed. As a result, the house tables had been pushed aside and dozens of circular tables and hundreds of chairs were in place to seat the expected crowd.

_Sunday, August 31st_

In the end, the three teenagers were able to shift the tide of opinion in the minds of Jeannette's parents without resorting to Obliviation or any other magical means of coercion. In a moment of complete frankness, Hermione might have been persuaded to admit that it was really just a case of wearing the parents down to the point of acceding to Jeannette's wishes. Minerva, honest woman that she was, had no part in that other than supplying information when required.

At the last minute, they all trekked back to Diagon Alley for Jeannette's school supplies. The Lamonde's met Ron and Luna along with Luna's father, Xenophilius Lovegood; the Lovegoods having had only just returned from Denmark, a few hours previous, by portkey. Mr. Lovegood and his daughter were scrambling somewhat to acquire new robes and school supplies for her before the shops closed.

Fortunately for Jeannette, because her mother was originally from England, she knew both languages almost equally well, though she often slipped into her French accent when she spoke English, it was an automatic reaction unless she was consciously trying not to.

Luna and her school trunk had come to The Burrow, and she stayed in Ginny's room, for the last night of the holidays. That was the cover story, at least. In reality, Luna spent most of the night in Ron's room and slipped back to Ginny's room just before dawn.

Ginny, of course, would never know the difference, because she was already packed for school and ready to go and her preparedness and foresight allowed her to spend the night with Neville at the Longbottom's Manor.

The evening with Nevilles' grandmother had started peacefully enough. At 6:30, they sat together in the informal dinning-room and shared a meal of roast lamb, spinach salad, and cinnamon-pecan rolls (which were a treat that Ginny had never experienced before and completely threatened to destroy her otherwise-careful diet).

At 8:30, after tea and dessert had been served, Nevilles' grandmother took her leave, to withdraw to the library, where she would pass the next hour reading in front of the fire. It was a routine with which Neville had become quite familiar and he was comforted by it.

He and Ginny, however, had other plans. They included a considerable amount of snogging, followed by more intense and intimate contact.

At nine-forty-five, they were well on their way to consummating their relationship and were lost in the joy that they were experiencing. Ginny had always thought that Harry would be the 'one for her', but once she had gotten to know Neville, she realized that he was just as kind and loving as Harry, only with much less emotional baggage.

They were just getting 'to the good parts' when an unexpected knock on Nevilles' door sent them into a panic. Had it not been for a quick dive off the side of Neville's bed; along with a wandless cushioning charm followed by a wandless disillusionment charm; when Augusta opened the door to check on Neville, they would have been caught bare handed or at least with their bare hands in places that Neville's Gran would have probably thought inappropriate. Ginny was shocked that her wandless magic worked so well. She was, however, under a great deal of emotional pressure at that moment. It had to work, she was very lucky that she had been practicing enough over the summer, to have the confidence to trust it to work. Neville was extremely impressed, Ginny left the bed, made no sound and when he looked over the edge of the bed after his Grandmother had closed the door, he could only just discern her outline because he knew where and what to look for.

When Neville looked down again, Ginny was smiling up at him. As he looked at her, his heart felt like it grew about three sizes as he contemplated the love of a girl who had been able to see past his shyness and insecurities and love him for who he was. He didn't even stop to consider that some might have thought him to be the 'second choice' or 'second best'. All he knew was that Ginny loved him and that he was willing to do anything to protect that love.

Whispering to her, as if his grandmother was still right outside the door, he said "coming back to bed?"

Ginny lifted herself up onto her elbows, so that she could look over the edge of the bed, towards the door which led out, into the hall. "Think it's still a good idea?"

Neville smiled – a wicked smile – which Ginny knew all too well. It was the secret smile he shared only with her and told her that he was thinking about something sneaky and/or funny that he wanted to do or had already done.

"That depends on how much you trust the simulacrum that you left in your bed, across the hall, and whether you think it will fool her."

Smirking, Ginny looked at him and then did a pretend-pout. "What? Don't you have any faith in the only sister of the famous Weasley twins? The inventors of Canary Creams and Fainting Fancies?"

"Merlin forbid, Ginny, that I should ever besmirch your talents!"

Laughing, Ginny nodded and then crawled back up into bed with him. As she did so, her red, silk chemise was bunched around her waist and his gaze took in the fact that her white, silk bikini knickers were more than a little damp from their earlier activities.

She followed his gaze and quickly realized where he was looking. "Are you going to finish what you started, Mr. Longbottom? It's not honourable to leave a woman wanting, you know."

As he fell back, with her in his arms, he whispered with all the love that he felt for her, "Merlin forefend, my lady, that I should ever leave you wanting."

At the Granger residence, after the first few nights, the Lamonde's had all been apprised of Harry and Hermione's bonded status along with the implications of the shared feelings and minds. They left out the details of the room trashing abilities of a steamy snogging session as being 'too much information'. The sleeping arrangements stayed almost the same as the first night with the exception that Harry and Hermione were not questioned about sharing the red and gold, king size, four poster that appeared nightly in place of the sofa.

Dan and Emma had been more accepting of their bonded status, almost to the point of actually considering them to be married, after Minerva had more fully explained to them the ancient rite of passage with its moral and legal ramifications. Still, it was a magical status and not what their muggle upbringing was accustomed to. They knew, of course, that a lot of adults in their muggle world were living together … yet … it wasn't how they envisioned their daughter's future unfolding. She knew that life seldom works out the way you originally envisioned

Coming out of the kitchen, on her way to the front hall stairway, Emma walked past the four-poster bed that had taken up residence again in their living room. As she did so, she considered the sadness that so many other parents had experienced – death, terminal illness, severe mental or physical handicaps…the list went on and on. She thought to herself that she ought to practice more of the faith that she had grown up professing and be grateful for all the things that were right or joyous in her life. Hermione had already lived longer than she had expected – because of the terrible, unfathomable, and awful war in which she had become such a pivotal figure.

As Emma climbed the stairs, she prayed that Hermione would see her next birthday.


	40. Chapter 40 On the Hogwarts Express

Disclaimer: All characters from the first six books in the Harry Potter series by Joanne K. Rowling, to whom I am deeply indebted, belong to her exclusively; © 2007. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

Not Another Author's Note: Many thanks to thescribbler for his kind assistance with this chapter. You the reader get to enjoy an extra 700 or so words and well as other corrections and enhancements.

**40a – On the Hogwarts Express**

- - - - - - - -

_Monday, September 1st_

Neville generally arrived in plenty of time for the train and this year was no exception. Ginny thanked Neville's Gran for the wonderful time she had touring around the country with them and for last night as well. They both said good-bye and made their way to the last compartment in the last car of the train. The compartment that Harry, Ron and Hermione usually had. When she was almost to the last car, Ginny saw something that shocked her. Molly was watching someone who appeared to be Ron; disappearing up the steps and into the last car. Never in all her days had any Weasley been to Kings Cross this early on September first.

Ginny shouted above the din of background noise, "Mom!" Then ran the last car length and over to her Mother. They both had their arms outstretched in anticipation of a huge mother-daughter hug. Finally, Neville, pulling both their trunks behind him got too close and was brought into the hug by Molly and then Ginny. Augusta had been watching and slowly began to make her way over to have a word with Molly about the pair once they had boarded the train.

Luna, of course was the reason for Ron being ahead of time. The brilliant, though odd, Ravenclaw was always more than prepared for any eventuality. She and Ron found Remus Lupin snoozing in the last compartment when they entered. Luna sat herself opposite the Professor at the window and Ron snuggled in beside her.

The next thing Molly knew, the final boarding whistle sounded and she hustled both kids towards the train. Neville took charge of their trunks while Ginny looked after their familiars. The train was underway by the time they reached the last compartment. The door was still open when they looked in to find that Luna had climbed atop Ron, her robes were hiked up in the front. They couldn't tell about Ron's robes. Their arms were hidden by their robes and their faces were joined, open-mouthed. Remus was still asleep. Neville and Ginny both shook their heads and backed away in anticipation of making some noise. When they looked up the train they saw an old Wizard that looked like Merlin, walking towards them and he had, of all things, a white Phoenix perched on his left shoulder. There was a girl walking ahead of the Wizard, it was Jeannette. Ginny realized now that the white Phoenix had to be Hermione, which meant that the old gent must be … Harry, using his metamorphagus ability.

"Hello Harry…Hermione…Jeannette?" said Ginny. Neville looked at her for the briefest moment before realization dawned on him as well. Merlin Harry smiled and greeted them both with a good morning.

Harry had been practicing by changing into Albus; each of the four founders; Merlin; the young Tom Riddle from the Chamber of Secrets; and Voldemort from his resurrection in the Graveyard, as well as a few of the Professors. He had also been practicing animating the Hungarian horntail image on his chest. Ginny didn't know anything about that – because Jeannette had not told her that Hermione had found a new game on Harry's chest. The purpose of being able to change into Voldemort was in case he had the opportunity to confuse or misdirect some Death Eaters.

Ron and Luna, amazingly enough, had overheard the greetings outside in the corridor and had rearranged themselves as if nothing unusual had happened when Jeannette entered the compartment next. They recognized each other, having met yesterday in Diagon Alley. Jeannette sat down opposite them, next to Remus, who still hadn't stirred. Ginny and Neville sat next to her. Merlin with the white Phoenix took the remaining position diagonally opposite Remus, beside Ron. Remus finally woke when the door closed and locked, then sat up with a jolt at the sight of Merlin before he realized it must be Harry.

Harry and Hermione had been almost the first on the train after the Aurors gave the all clear to start boarding. They entered at the front car and stowed their trunks in the Prefects compartment where they would hold the meeting to organize the prefects. Harry morphed into Merlin while Hermione transformed into Caledfwlch and perched on his shoulder. Harry was getting much faster at morphing, he made this change in well under thirty seconds. Just as the final boarding whistle blew, the unlikely pair proceeded down the train, acquiring startled looks from most of the students while making sure that all the students were finding compartments and settling a few disagreements in the process.

Once closeted in the end compartment with their friends, they both transformed back into the Head Boy and Girl - complete with robes and badges. Hermione properly introduced Jeannette to Professor Lupin; their friends had met her before. Soon they had to leave for the Prefects meeting with Ron. Although Harry had been made Head Boy, Ron was still a seventh year Prefect and this year's Quidditch Captain - provided he could keep his grades up.

On their way to the Prefects Meeting, they spotted Draco Malfoy in a Slytherin-filled compartment that included Crabbe, Goyle, Parkinson and Nott. Hermione thought about the staff meeting yesterday, when the Headmaster had told them all that Draco Malfoy would be returning. The rational that they had been given – which sounded sketchy to all of them – was that since he didn't actually kill the Headmaster last term or hurt anyone else that they could determine, there was no reason to prevent him from returning. Dumbledore had acknowledged, after a considerable amount of turmoil during the staff meeting, that there had been considerable pressure put on him over Draco's return, since he had actually helped the Death Eaters enter the Castle. The concession to that pressure, he told them all, was that Draco would be on a very short leash and not allowed a wand except in classes.

As they passed by, Draco looked up and gave them his customary sneer. Harry was eager to jump down his throat right then and there, but Hermione caught him by the sleeve and diffused the thought before Harry got a chance to act. "_He's not worth it, Harry. Save your energies for those who really deserve it_."

A minute later and a few cars along, two small children, Ron thought of them as midgets, burst through the door of a compartment, glass from the still-closed door flying everywhere. Ron quickly sent a spell that hoisted the little boy up to the ceiling by his heels and when the girl attempted to continue her attack, Hermione tied her up with ropes from her wand. Harry repaired the compartment door with a casual flick of his wrist and then looked in, to see if there was anything else that needed his attention. When the combatants were separated and the story began to unfold, the three elder students found out that the girl had a much older sister that graduated from Hogwarts a few years ago. Hermione, Ron, and Harry listened patiently as the girl told them that her sister had, while she was home from school, explained the term 'Mudblood' and had impressed upon her the vileness of the insult. Carol Taylor, the little girl, took exception to the insult and when the little boy wouldn't apologize freely she decided that she would make him do it.

Afterwards, Harry got basically the same story out of Trevor Goyle - except, of course, that Carol attacked him for no reason. Trevor explained that 'yes, of course he called her a Mudblood'. His father, mother and brother all used that term at home, so it must be all right. She said she came from two Muggle parents therefore she was a …

Harry cut him off there and read him the riot act in no uncertain terms while Hermione sent Carol off with her trunk, lightened to a feather's weight, to the last compartment of the last car to get her cuts cleaned up by Professor Lupin. Trevor was told that if he ever used that word again, he would loose his house fifty points for each time he used it, and would serve significant detention time. Then he was sent back to his compartment, to contemplate what he had been told.

By the time the trio made it to the first compartment of the first car, the Prefects were getting anxious and some were ready to leave in search of the Heads. Upon calling the roll, Slytherin was short a Prefect because Malfoy had had his badge revoked by the Headmistress, and Gryffindor had an extra Prefect because Harry stepped directly into the Head Boy position. Hermione paired up Prefects from different houses for the rotating patrols of the train and told all of them that she and Harry would take the last patrol. Hermione gave out the House dormitory passwords and the fifth year prefects agreed to lead the new first years to their dormitories.

A rotation schedule was agreed to for the first week of nightly patrols in the Castle after which they would have another meeting to consider any changes or amendments. The conditions under which Draco Malfoy was allowed to return were explained, including that he was to collect his wand from Professor Slughorn after breakfast and return it to him after his last class of the day. If he was caught using his wand out of class or without the supervision of a Professor it was to be confiscated and turned in to the nearest Professor along with Draco himself.

The meeting ended and all the Prefects disbursed, including Ron, who wanted to get back to Luna. Once they were alone, Harry morphed into Merlin again and Caledfwlch perched on his shoulder for the walk to the far end of the train. Everyone who was in the corridor gaped and stared as Harry and Hermione passed through. A few of them had sworn to their friends that they had seen Merlin walk up the train less than an hour before. The moment that Merlin Harry stepped between the last two cars, he disillusioned himself and Caledfwlch. By the time they arrived at the last compartment they had both changed back to Harry and Hermione, though they were still disillusioned. Entering the compartment, they checked behind themselves to make sure no one could see or hear them other than those in the compartment and announced themselves to the small group, "Hey guys, it's just us", before cancelling the disillusionment charm and taking the last two seats.

Remus had patched Carol up a while ago, he knew he was no Poppy Pomfrey, but these were simple cuts and bruises - well within his capabilities. Once Carol had calmed down, she had a bright and bubbly personality that got along well with everyone in that compartment. Just before Harry and Hermione came in, they had been talking about Hogwarts and the Sorting Ceremony. Once everyone settled down and the new arrivals were seated, Carol wondered aloud, "I hope I'm not in Slytherin, anywhere else would be alright."

"Ha!" said Harry, "You'll be a Gryffindor … like most of us!" He exclaimed.

"Ha…..h….how do you know?" asked Carol.

"Easy," Harry replied, "You've already attacked your first Pure-Blood, Bigoted Slytherin and …"

"HARRrrrEeeeeee!" Hermione shouted, interrupting him, then she looked at Carol, "Carol, you can be in whatever house you want, if you want it badly enough to convince the Sorting Hat to put you there." Luna, Ron, Neville and Ginny all looked at Hermione as if she was loony.

"Hermione's right, Carol … the sorting hat wanted to put her in Ravenclaw, she convinced it to make her a Gryffindor and I'm really happy about that. We've been the best of friends," He smiled at Hermione and gave her a squeeze, Hermione smiled back and blushed a little when he raised his eyebrows and added, "With benefits."

"Hey guys," Ron said grinning, "Find yourselves a private compartment."

Remus stood up and offered his hand to Carol while saying, "Come with me Carol, we'll find a compartment for you, with people your own age and leave these hormonally-challenged adolescents on their own … though it's against my better judgement to leave them unsupervised."

At the far end of the magically enlarged compartment, Jeannette was sitting beside Ginny, talking quietly about Gabrielle and Fleur and no one was paying them much attention other than Neville, who couldn't help but listen in and offer the occasional comment.

Shortly after Remus and Carol left, Rose Zeller found them. She had gone up to the Prefects car at the front of the train first, but the meeting had already broken up by then. It dawned on her, after she had passed Merlin and his white Phoenix making their way to the back of the train, that it must be the same white Phoenix and Merlin should be long since dead. Her attempt to follow Merlin was sidetracked by friends trying to show her their new owl. When she was finally free of her friends she had lost all track of Merlin and had to search each compartment along the train for either Merlin, Harry, Hermione or a white Phoenix until she finally arrived at the very last compartment.

Rose stood outside the door looking in, relief flooding her face, then the door slowly opened. She looked up the car to see if anyone was there before saying, "I won't ask who Merlin was, but I'd know that white Phoenix anywhere now. "Hello Hermione, Harry …", Rose looked around the compartment only to see the others looking at Harry. She recognized the other faces, but couldn't put names to all of them, then looked back to Harry and Hermione, "I had to come and thank you guys for your help earlier this summer … Thank You."

The others watched and looked confused, Harry had mentioned the trouble with his cousin and Uncle, but had not specifically mentioned that the young lady that was hurt was a Witch or her name. Hermione introduced Rose to everyone present; Harry then explained that Rose Zeller was the young lady that Dudley and his gang beat up.

The next thing they heard, in the distance, was Draco's muffled voice telling off Vincent Crabbe for not having his wand out. Hermione pulled Rose in from the door and closed it before pointing to the seat that Remus recently vacated, in the corner by the window.

"I am going to disillusion myself and morph into Voldemort, when I reappear you will see Voldemort sitting here, act normal, like he's been here the whole trip and were all buddies." Hermione and Rose were horrified; the others were still grasping the idea when Harry disappeared under a disillusionment charm.

Neville warned Rose to hide behind him and not to stick her head out for any reason, then the doors crashed open. Draco Malfoy, with no apparent wand stood there flanked by Crabbe and Goyle … both had their wands drawn and pointing into the compartment.

"Mudbloods and Blood Traitors, where's Potty we Potter?" scathed Malfoy. "Too scared to show his face I expect." Draco added as he stepped through the door.

Harry had severed the Gryffindor patch from his robes and removed the Head Boy badge while his head and hands morphed into a resemblance of Voldemort that he had seen the night of his resurrection. The rest of his body was hidden under his school robes so it didn't take more than a few long seconds to morph.

As the disillusionment charm ended Voldemort Harry reached out with his long spindly pale fingers to grasp Draco's arm. Crabbe and Goyle back peddled out of there and running and stumbling they made their way back to their compartment. "Draco," hissed Voldemort Harry in the voice from Harry's dreams. Draco turned, his features, starting at surprise then turned to shock followed by some actual pink colour coming to his sallow face. A moment later a pool of yellow liquid overflowed his shoes onto the floor.

Ginny noticed the expanding pool on the floor first and while looking at the yellow pool she raised her feet and said, "Yeeewwww!", scrunching up her face.

"Draco … you are a lot of talk and very little action, not unlike your miserable excuse for a Father." Hissed Voldemort Harry. "You couldn't even murder the defenceless old man you were supposed to kill. You're a waste of Wizard flesh, I should kill you here and now, but you're not worth the effort. These young people however, are willing to help me, and they have a track record of getting the job done. Leave my sight and don't bother these people again!" commanded Voldemort Harry.

Draco turned and ran as fast as he could, slipping and sliding in the corridor. Voldemort Harry motioned with his hand, causing the door to close, then locked it and pulled down the blind to keep nosey eyes out before relaxing for a moment. Hermione banished the mess on the floor while Ginny freshened the air in the compartment. Rose, the only one that hadn't seen Harry morph before was hiding behind Neville holding him tight around the waist. Harry returned to his normal self in a few seconds then everyone began to relax. Because Harry warned them all, Hermione knew very well what to expect, the others of the group had only seen Harry morph once or twice. Poor Rose was frightened out of her mind. Once Ginny pried Rose from around her boyfriend, Neville got out of the way and the three girls calmed Rose down in short order.

A knocking on the door got everyone's attention; Harry made a show of pulling his wand out and unlocking the door which slid open a moment later. Remus looked around then spotted a young girl. Ginny introduced Rose to Professor Lupin who made a comment about every time he turned around there was another young girl in here.

"It's all his fault," said Ron, pointing to Harry, "They all come to see Harry. Everyone laughed except Rose and Harry.

"I saw Crabbe and Goyle racing up the train, followed a minute later by Malfoy," said Remus. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that would you?" he questioned.

"They could have been running from someone who looked very much like V … V … Voldemort", stuttered Neville.

Remus looked down at Harry for a moment as a smile slowly crept onto his face. A moment later he started to laugh then his hand reached out and ruffled Harry's hair. "A true Marauder, your Father and Sirius would be proud of you." Remus eyes shifted towards Rose and he said to her, "I hope you know not to talk about this to anyone except those in this room?"

"Yesssss Sir," she said while trying to make herself small and inconspicuous.

"Would you like an escort back to your friends Rose?" Remus asked.

"That's fine Sir, I can get back there myself." She said as she got up and made her way past Remus and out the door.

"Rose …" Jeannette hesitated a moment before continuing, "Can you help me find some second years to meet?"

Rose looked at her as she stood up, appraising her height and build, "Second year … are you sure?" Jeannette nodded and Rose held out a hand for Jeannette to come with her.

"I spotted some second years on my way here that I think you'll fit in with." Rose said as they walked out the door. Jeannette waved at the group she left behind and the pair made their way through two cars before they found the group that Rose remembered. She knocked on the compartment door and it opened. Rose introduced Jeannette to those she knew and the rest introduced themselves. There were now four girls and four boys crowded into the compartment and they would get to know Jeannette by the time the trip was over. The compartment that Jeannette was introduced into was mostly second year Ravenclaws with a Hufflepuff and a Gryffindor added for colour and flavour.

When Rose and Jeannette left Remus claimed his seat in the corner and they spent a while talking about the prank Harry played against Malfoy and his cronies. Since no magic was used against anyone, there was very little Remus could to do as a teacher except laugh along with the teenagers. Ron commented at one point that Fred and George would have had a hard time topping Harry's prank and they all agreed.

The train ride went smoothly after all that; Ron made his tour of duty at the appointed time, with Luna at his side. The pair met up with Terry Boots - a third of the way up the train and from that point the three carried on together. He reported back that they had heard some sixth and seventh year Slytherins talking about 'He Who Must Not Be Named' being on the train and a few mentions of Merlin with a white Phoenix. Through the afternoon, Harry and Hermione made a few unscheduled rounds up and down the train and near the end of the trip they made their scheduled inspection reminding those that still didn't have their robes on that it was time to be ready.

"We're probably lucky that no one saw Snape or Sirius." Said Harry with a smirk on his face, "Or maybe Dumbledore."

"Don't push it Harry," said Hermione, "It won't be good for you if I wake up and see any of those people." Harry nodded back to her and smiled.

The Hogwarts Express slowed as it approached Hogsmeade Station and the whistle blew to announce their arrival. People started hoisting trunks, bags and other packages out of the overhead racks and hauling then towards the exit doors. Once the train stopped there was a mass exodus out the doors and onto the station platform. When most of the students appeared to be off the train, Hagrid announced that they should leave their trunks and pets on the platform and they would be taken to the castle separately. A few moments later they heard the familiar announcement from Hagrid, "Firs' years over 'ere ... firs' years ... firs' years over 'ere." Harry and Ron spotted Hagrid near the front of the train before he bent down, and that was the last they heard of Hagrid due to the noise and bustle of all the other students making their way to the carriages. Charged with making sure that everyone else found space in the carriages, Harry and Hermione were the last to leave and therefore missed the ride with their friends and ended up with a group of Hufflepuff sixth years. They all had a pleasant ride and enjoyed the rumors of Merlin and He Who Must Not Be Named being on the train.

Once the second year group arrived at the castle, they were surprised that Jeannette knew her way around. It took some careful explaining to conceal the fact that she had been there with Harry, and she had been asked not to mention that Hermione was her cousin. She simply told them that she had been here over the last week with a DADA instructor to catch up in that course.

"I heard last year that the most useful defence instruction was from Harry Potter and his group of friends including Hermione Granger. I do hope they will have that Defence Club this year, I want to join it and learn something useful." Said the blonde second year girl.

"I did hear something about a Duelling Club this year, if that's what you're referring to?" Responded Jeannette, "The teacher I had last week mentioned it. He suggested that I should join."

"Oh good, don't go without me, I think it'll be very popular this year ... a good chance to meet some boys from other houses too", said the blonde.

"I see you have your priorities straight." Jeannette commented, and they both giggled as they walked into the Great Hall.


	41. Chapter 41 Hermione's Thoughts

Disclaimer: All characters from the first six books in the Harry Potter series by Joanne K. Rowling, to whom I am deeply indebted, belong to her exclusively; © 2007. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

Not Another Author's Note: Many thanks to thescribbler and Serenity of the Lake for their kind assistance with this chapter.

41 – Hermione's Thoughts

The arriving students, for the most part, made their way into the Great Hall and found their seats quickly. The Head Boy and Girl were again at the end of the procession, hustling and herding the stragglers along. Parkinson, Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle were the final stragglers and seemed intent on delaying the feast or at least trying to make a grand entrance. When the large doors started to close, Hermione stuck the four together and levitated them into the Hall before she and Harry closed the great doors.

Minerva stood and watched them as the doors closed. The Head Girl released the four from the spell and they glared at her as if daring her to try it again. Minerva turned her head to look at Horace; nodding, she then returned her attention to the hall until everyone was seated. The four Slytherins made their way to their table and sat in a group, Draco had a smug look on his face - his return had been well noticed by everyone. The rush of whispered conversations grew into a dull roar until the Headmistress, using a 'sonorous' charm, called for silence.

Traditionally, the sorting of new first-year students was next. Professor Flitwick brought forward the three legged stool and the Sorting Hat; placing them on the podium, front and centre of the High table. From the enrolment scroll, he read off the names of the new students and each sat on the stool in turn, while the Professor placed the Sorting Hat on their heads.

Hermione looked over the High table while the first years were being sorted, and took note of who was there. Her scan stopped briefly at Molly, wondering just how good a teacher the mother of seven would be. Her next pause was at Moody, he had been here before, but only as a prisoner in his own trunk. Then there was Remus Lupin. He had a very successful year here a few years ago, she thought, and she was sure he had saved Harry's life by teaching him the incredibly difficult _patronus_ charm. That train of thought reminded her about her agreement with the Board of Governors and made her wonder whether or not the Board members really understood what she had done and the leverage it gave her.

Flashback 

The Board, mostly ancient Wizards, with one Witch more closely resembling an old Hag, had been a tough bunch of negotiators; however Hermione had gone over all the details with Rowena before her final meeting with them. They had grudgingly agreed to allow Remus Lupin to return to his former teaching position in consideration of Hermione reducing the rent that the Board, or more precisely The Ministry of Magic, paid her for the use of the Castle and its grounds. Hermione would easily make up for her small reduction in rent in the satisfaction she would have when the stuffed-shirt pure bloods in the Ministry realized they were paying a Muggleborn for the use of Hogwarts. She purposely dragged out the negotiations until the last few days of August so that school would be in session by the time the details became public. She had signed the contract as _Lady H. J. P. Gryffindor_ to further confuse the issue because she knew the Goblins would uphold the agreement even if the Ministry had coronary seizures and did back-flips over it.

End Flashback 

Suddenly there was a loud cheer and the tables filled with food. Ron's, who was sitting beside Luna at the Ravenclaw table, was getting some odd looks ... and not just from the Ravenclaws. He was drawing attention partly because his stomach had been rumbling for the last twenty minutes. Luna was almost afraid that he might decide to snack on a first-year. Ron kept muttering something unintelligible about slim pickings amongst the first years until Trevor Goyle was sorted and Luna could make out the words 'tasty morsel' which she assumed referred to the youngest Goyle. Trevor was on the chubby side much like his older brother.

After the feast and the Headmistress's speech about banned items and out of bounds areas like the Forbidden Forest, the fifth-year prefects took the firsties in tow and each house made their way to their dormitories. The password for the Fat Lady is 'Goblet of Fire', a female prefect told the Gryffindor students after they had all entered their Common Room. The lovely blonde Prefect looked up and noticed that Hermione and Harry were last to enter, making sure everyone else was inside ahead of them.

Hermione looked around and saw Ginny and Neville near the boy's stairs; hugging like they _really _didn't want to part for the night. Ron was nowhere to be seen. He was a Prefect, so he could get away with being out late. Harry figured he was probably saying good night to Luna, somewhere private. Harry and Hermione had chosen to take patrols the first night and Harry hoped he wouldn't run into his other best friends during those rounds. When they left for rounds, Harry stopped at his room quickly to collect The Marauders Map out of his trunk.

Harry was walking the route they had planned, holding the Map in front of him to see if anyone was out and about. The map showed that Remus and Mad-eye were patrolling two floors above them. Hermione had her left arm linked through Harry's right, her wand held loosely in her other hand, but she was mostly thinking.

As she was with her love, the beautiful Head Girl let her mind wander. So much had happened that there was a lot to think about. So engrossed in thought was she that as they turned the corner and started down the third-floor corridor, she almost tripped over the edge of a carpet. Harry caught her easily and kept her from falling.

_Hermione was quite amazed at how much Harry had changed over the summer, and quite proud to think that she could have that much of an effect on him. At the beginning of the summer he was quite hesitant and unsure of himself around her in anything that went beyond their friendship of the last six years._

Some time after that earth shattering walk in the park, they had some discussions about sex and safety and he had willingly gone along with her when she decided ... no they agreed ... they should wait. Not that he was pushing her on that topic now, no, he was being very patient, considering that he was taking the potion every week, like clockwork. He would take it right in front of her, there was never any question of whether he took it; not that she would have questioned his word. She wondered if maybe it reduced his interest in sex, but then thought better of that question. Every night and most mornings, they would explore each other, wind each other up and make a big bang … or at least a decent whimper. '_Tergeo_' was usually the last spell they used at night and the first one used most mornings.

Her parents grew accustomed to her goofy smiles in the morning and her sidelong glances at Harry while they ate breakfast. She remembered one day ... shortly after Harry's birthday; she wasn't smiling one morning and wouldn't let him touch her. Harry had tried since they woke up to find out what was wrong, what he had possibly done. He could sense that she was in some pain and ill at ease about discussing it. The good news was that she didn't seem upset at him, specifically ... until she couldn't put up with his apologies any longer.

The blow up happened during breakfast, she actually yelled at him to get out and leave her alone. What she actually might have said if her parents were not sitting right there at the time is anybody's guess. Harry was horrified and left the kitchen immediately, heading towards the living room before Emma caught up with him.

Several days later, when she was feeling better, Harry had shown her his memories of his talk with Emma.

Flashback to Harry's memory 

Emma took hold of his arm and directed him outside to a seat on the patio, and then she took a seat opposite him. Harry was by now openly crying, he had no idea what he had done to hurt Hermione and now, to make matters worse, he expected Emma was going to give him a piece of her mind too.

Surprising him, Emma simply started talking, "Harry dear, this is Hermione's problem not yours ... calm down and look at me." Harry looked up, but couldn't see her except as a blur. His tears had pooled on the inside of his lenses, when he looked up they ran off his glasses and down his cheeks, streaking his glasses. His damp eyes couldn't hope to focus anyway. "Now as I understand it, you never had a sister and you've never had someone that you would call a girlfriend for more than a couple of weeks ... Is that right?"

"_Y ... yes Ma'am," _Harry responded with hesitation.

"_And I suspect that neither your Aunt nor your Uncle ever explained about the _..." Now it was Emma's turn to blush_, "the Birds and the Bees ... you know ... The Talk", asked Emma._

A look of horror, disbelief and fear crossed Harry's face as he removed his glasses and wiped his sleeve across his eyes. He wiped his glasses with his t-shirt and could at least now focus, not that he was sure he really wanted to see Emma at this moment. Emma recognized the looks she saw and knew the reason for his face turning red. She was certain that he didn't want to have this discussion with her, of all people.

"_A ... Arthur ... that is Mr. Weasley, kind of took me aside a couple of summers ago, and ... and ... warned me that there might be some girls that were desperate enough to trap me ... they might try to get pregnant to do it, and I should keep my piece in my pants unless I was very, very certain ..." _responded Harry hesitantly. "_He might also have been concerned that his own daughter might have been that desperate."_

"_Considering your wealth and fame, that was very good advice, but that is not what I had in mind. Your friend Remus Lupin is a Werewolf ... For a few days on either side of the full moon, Hermione has told me that he's grumpy, irritable and out of sorts, not to mention what happens the night of the full moon itself." _Emma started saying.

"_I don't follow. What does Remus have to do with this?" _asked Harry.

"_He is only an example to illustrate the point I am about to attempt." _Emma said_, "A woman's body is on a similar cycle of about twenty-eight days. During that cycle there are a few days when she will be, like your werewolf friend, irritable, grumpy and in some pain. After Hermione's has had something to eat, she'll likely take some medication to ease the cramps, but the rest of it you'll just have to put up with. Give her a hug and tell her you love her, ok? Don't become an added irritation, that's about all you can do for a few days until it goes away. I'll ask her to explain it to you. I think you'll feel more comfortable that way. She has known all about it since before she was eleven, long before she first went to Hogwarts. She probably assumes that you should know about it too."_

End Flashback of Harry's memory 

During that few minutes of Harry's enlightenment, Dan had taken his daughter's hand and given it a light squeeze. "_Pumpkin," _Dan started to say as she looked into his eyes.

"_Harry has no idea, does he Dad?" _she asked. Her Father nodded his head in agreement. "_And I've been about as mean to him as I could be ... haven't I?"_

Dan shrugged his shoulders and smiled before saying, "_Find him and give him a hug, show him you're not mad at him. If it makes you feel any better, your Mother had to explain it to me and I had two older sisters and living parents, your Mum and I were both going to Medical School at the time. You would have thought I'd have a clue. Give the poor boy a break and when you feel comfortable, explain it all to him. If it comes from you rather than us, he'll be more receptive and he'll feel better about asking questions and trying to understand."_

"_Yes ... I'd better find him before he does something stupid, like leaving." _She sighed. As Hermione made her way to the living room she saw Harry coming in from outside and tried her best to reassure him with a smile until she was close enough to wrap her arms around his neck and bury her face in his chest. His arms went around her gently as he kissed the top of her head. He need not hear her apologies nor did she need to hear his. "_Harry, apparently I have some explaining to do ... finish your breakfast and meet me in my bedroom. Take your time." _She hung onto him for a minute more; enjoying his warmth. As she loosened her arms and pulled away she looked up, their eyes met and moments later they kissed, briefly; then she made her way upstairs.

Harry did as he was told and finished his breakfast then set the dishes to washing themselves before he made his way to her bedroom. He came up to the open door and knocked before looking through. She was lying down on one side of the double bed with her hands behind her head and eyes closed. One hand moved and patted a spot on the bed beside her. Harry came in and sat where she indicated. Her hand ended up on his thigh with their fingers intertwined.

After a few minutes of silence during which Hermione was psyching herself up and figuring out how to start. She had placed a medical text on the table beside Harry that had several obvious Hogwarts bookmarks in it. She started out in textbook mode and for all Harry knew, she was quoting the medical text verbatim. He had to stop her ... he wasn't following the explanation because half the words she used he didn't understand. He lay down on his side facing her and taking one of her hands in both of his, he started asking simple questions. She gave him the simple answers, but in doing so was able to prompt more questions in the direction she wanted him to follow. They spent most of the day talking and when he wasn't asking her questions, he was listening attentively and stroking her hair. This generally elicited slower and more elaborate responses because she loved the feel of his fingers running through her hair and it threw off her concentration. They shared one funny moment, when Hermione told him about '_the squirms'_ – a term that totally befuddled him – until she explained it. He looked at her with the sympathy and love that he always did as his comprehension grew. He asked her if it happened every month and she nodded yes. Then she told him about her muggle friends and their (often) _monthly_ prayers that the squirms _did_ show up.

Harry grinned and Hermione asked him what he was thinking. Looking at her with eyes full of mirth, he said "Pansy. Last day of classes in June." It took a moment, but then the light dawned for Hermione and she burst into giggles.

Realizing that the tension between them from the morning had passed, Harry pulled her to him and kissed her gently. When she responded with a passion that had been missing for her during the previous two days, they quickly lost themselves in a snogging session that went on for almost a half-hour, before sleep claimed them both.

They had _just_ woken up as her parents were arriving home – a situation which led to some initial questions and then reassurances. Harry and Hermione hadn't moved very much during the marathon talk, except that when her parents got home, he was a little closer to her. One thing that amazed Hermione was that all during the afternoon, while they were awake, he had maintained his stroking of her hair, and it made her fall in love with him that much more.

Even though her pain killers had worn off hours ago she was still oblivious to the discomfort, as though his presence and compassion was the best medicine.

_Returning to the present_

"Harry," she started.

He looked over at her and their eyes met, he knew what she was about to say, it was, after all four weeks later, so he knew what was coming. "I guess we had better make tonight a night we can remember for the next few days." He said while smiling down at her. She smiled back in eager anticipation.

_Tuesday, September 2, 1997_

The next morning Hermione was in relatively good spirits, she knew to stop by the Hospital Wing during their rounds the night before, for a potion to ease her through the next few days. Poppy always had a keg of potion on tap and all the girls knew where she kept it.

The first morning's breakfast was busy with the handing out of course schedules and making adjustments for some of the sixth and seventh years. The Headmistress remained Head of House for Gryffindor this year, she wasn't about to turn that over to someone else with Harry still around. Most of the students had to return to their dormitories for the right books.

Jeannette was plunged straight into the deep end, the second year Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs had Practical Defence (PD) with the real Professor Moody.

Hermione and Harry had some free time and decided to learn more about Ravenclaw's Wand from Rowena and Salazar. It didn't take their practiced feet long to arrive at the Library and Madam Pince knew they were coming before she even heard their hurried footsteps in the corridor. _There were very few years when I wasn't one of the first students to use the Library_, she thought.

The pair came quietly through the doors, not wanting to attract any attention, but of course they already had, then turned towards the back where the restricted section was. They looked back at Irma and she waved them on with a rare smile. When the noise at the back started to pick up again Irma knew they were in the portrait with Rowena.

Rowena naturally hoped that Harry could save her wand and magically destroy the Horcrux, however she did concede that if the wand were destroyed it would be one less magically powerful object in the world and it was certainly worth it, if it led to the elimination of the Slytherin Pretender. Both teens had free time just before lunch on Friday and it was decided to destroy the Horcrux then. They would use the Quidditch Pitch; no one else was likely to be using it at that time of morning. They talked to Salazar about the protection spells on the wand and learned that there were two more that the locket didn't have. Harry and Salazar went through the detection and removal spells, again in parsel-tongue, so no one else could understand what they were doing. Hermione was able to follow along in Harry's mind while he translated the snake language for her, but without the ability to speak it herself there was literally nothing she could do with the knowledge.

8 a.m. came and went and soon it was time for their first class of the Term, Transfiguration, presumably with Headmistress McGonagall. Before they left Rowena reminded them that they should bolster the Castle's protection wards and learn to control the Castle itself. The structure had its own magic and could be made to assist them if the battle came inside Hogwarts itself. They thanked Salazar and Rowena and leaving the Library behind, they began making their way to their new rooms. Armed with books and supplies for the balance of the morning, they arrived at the Transfiguration classroom just in time to see the previous class that appeared to be first-years, leave. Hermione pointed out to Harry that Carol Taylor was amongst the group as was Trevor Goyle. They entered to find Professors Weasley and McGonagall in a discussion and found seats together at the front, sitting quietly; it would likely be a few minutes before the first of the other NEWT students arrived.

The Professors finished their discussion and Minerva sagged into the chair behind her desk. Molly looked around to see Harry and Hermione sitting together and paying attention only to each other. She made her way over and interrupted what she assumed was their 'mutual admiration society'. They were in fact discussing, in their thoughts, the new staffs and whether it would be too unwieldy for Harry to use his to destroy the Horcrux on Friday. Harry had found that the Basilisk eyeball would move in its socket, so as long as he could keep his eyes focussed on the escaped soul fragment and the staff pointed in the general direction, the eyeball would swivel, following Harry's line of sight.

"Good Morning, Professor Weasley", the pair chanted and smiled back up at her. "How was your first class?"

"A little disappointing I'm afraid ... though Minerva keeps telling me it is quite normal for none of them to transfigure their matches into needles on the first lesson and probably only a very few on the second lesson. She keeps bringing you up as an example of exceptional talent," Molly said as she looked at Hermione. "She is quite proud of you, Hermione." Hermione blushed at the compliment and smiled back, part of the blush was caused by an emotional surge from Harry; Hermione had picked up on his exaggerated feelings of pride, admiration and love for her. "I get a short break now and before lunch I have some second year Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, I understand your cousin is one of that bunch?"

"Yes, Jeannette is a second year Ravenclaw, and quite fast to pick up new spells if she isn't distracted by something", responded Hermione. "I'd prefer to keep the fact that she's my cousin quiet if possible Professor ... We don't want to take the chance that some of the Junior Death Eaters may try to use her to get to me or Harry."

"Oh, yes of course dear, I think that only the Order Members know ... I'll be sure to mention that to Minerva," replied Molly.

"Thank you," Said Hermione, "Turning buttons into beetles is the first lesson if I remember correctly."

"Oh, right ... yes that's the first lesson all right," said Professor Weasley while trying to remember how to do it herself. I'll make sure I keep her full attention, I'd better go. Your class is starting to fill up." And she skirted around the room to the door, and then made her way to the Teachers Lounge to go over Minerva's notes for her next class. She hoped the second years wouldn't be as frustrating as those first years, even if Carol and a few of the others at least showed some promise. The Goyle boy on the other hand, had a foul mouth and seemed as smart as a fried kipper.

Hermione, barely able to keep a straight face in front of Molly after Harry's emotional overload, retaliated in kind, remembering an exciting play session in bed and recreating her feelings of pleasure and love for him to pick up on. She snuck a peek at him as she squeezed his inner thigh ... his eyeballs nearly popped out of their sockets when the feelings came together for him. Harry was about to call her a 'naughty little bookworm' when Professor McGonagall spoke up.


	42. Chapter 42 Bloody Tuesday

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the books in the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling belong to the aforementioned J. K. Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

Not Another Author's Note: Many thanks to thescribbler for his kind assistance with this chapter. You the reader get to enjoy an extra 700 or so words and well as other corrections and enhancements.

**42 – Bloody Tuesday**

"This term we will begin to study Human Transfiguration. You should have read ahead in your texts as you were assigned at the end of last year. This is very dangerous magic, if you make a mistake, you could kill yourself or your partner." Said McGonagall. _Oh goody_, thought Harry, _wondering if he could partner up with a wandless Draco Malfoy and accidentally kill him, on purpose._

The Professor pointed her wand at the chalkboard and the appropriate instructions and diagrams appeared. "Today we will change a finger into a claw." The illustrations on the board showed four stages of the progressive changing of a finger into a finger sized claw. "Next lesson, if you all get through this one, will be to change a whole hand into a bear paw with claws. You can work in pairs if you want."

Harry thought for a moment, then stared at his left hand until its forefinger started to morph into the shape of a claw similar to the image on the chalk board. Hermione shook her head ever so slightly, but what caught his attention quicker was her feelings that he was cheating the system with his Metamorphmagus abilities. Harry sighed and was about to change it back when the Professor spotted him and gave him a disapproving look. "I think you two need to work on each other, not yourselves."

Harry hid his left hand under the table and placed his right hand flat on the table for Hermione to practice on. The Professor waited until Hermione pulled out her wand, referred back to the board and silently transfigured Harry's finger. Harry drew the claw across the table making a deep gouge in the wooden surface and a nerve jarring screeching noise. Harry, taking his wand in his left hand, and instead of cancelling her spell he retransfigured the claw back into his finger.

"Good enough," said Minerva, "You two help the pair behind you while I check on the others." Minerva looked up and saw blood on a back desk, she hurried over to Malfoy and Parkinson. Harry and Hermione turned around to find Seamus and Parvati with what could best be described as disfigured appendages. Hermione made short work of sorting out their hands. She did so well that Seamus was hungrily admiring his new fingernails as if they were snack food. Parvati shook her head and slapped Seamus's hand away from his mouth before he could chew those fingernails off too. By the time the class was over, the four had not only mastered the claw, but were well on the way to completing decent looking bear paws as well.

The next hour would be Theoretical Defence (TD) with Professor Lupin. Professor McGonagall thanked the Head Students for their help in the class and was quite pleased with the results of the foursome. As the class broke up Professor Weasley returned, the two Professors again had a quick discussion before the Headmistress left and the second years started drifting in.

Edward and Jeannette made their way in and ended up in the same seats on the right hand side of the room that Seamus and Parvati had just vacated. Jeannette had made some friends in Ravenclaw and among them was Edward Normalis. He was quite tall, large and fairly muscular, his nickname was E-normous. He was already near six foot tall, a good head taller than Jeannette. They had met and talked on the train, Jeannette needed to find Rose and thank her for introducing her into that compartment of second years. They gravitated to each other at the feast and had progressed to holding hands this morning. Molly had noticed them holding hands when they came in, and as she wandered through the class handing out trays of buttons, she overheard some heavily accented words from the young lady that sounded much like her daughter-in-laws French accented attempt at English. Molly had been told that Jeannette could speak perfectly good English when she wanted to and thought that maybe, at the moment, with this boy in tow, she may not want to. Ed liked the accented French, he had told her it made her sound as exotic as she looked, at the time, she had smiled at him and blushed.

Professor Weasley flicked her wand at the board making her name appear, then called the roll so she could identify the students. Several of them she knew, and they knew her, because she knew their parents, the rest were new names and faces. "I am ... Professor Weasley ... and I'm teaching first through fifth year Transfiguration. Transfiguration is some of the most useful and also the most dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts. That is the first thing Professor McGonagall would have told you last year and it will apply for all of your years here, Don't forget it!" said the Professor, "If I even suspect that any of you are doing anything inappropriate in this class, and that includes holding hands under the desk with your boyfriend Miss Lamonde! You will be out of here faster than you can say Quidditch! Do I make myself clear?"

Everyone looked at her and responded, "Yes, Professor Weasley." Ed and Jeannette's hands had separated faster than if they had been blown apart, both blushed a fine shade of crimson and were able to maintain it for a good five minutes while the class was given their instructions. Jeannette, as reputed, was quick to pick up new spells, as was Ed and by the end of the hour they were the only two to have live beetles scampering across their table attempting to gain freedom.

Harry and Hermione took a detour on their way to the TD classroom and arrived to find that they weren't able to sit together. As it turned out, it didn't much matter. Most of the hour was spent on discussions of defence against multiple attackers. In the last ten minutes Harry was asked to come up and defend against a combined assault by Ron and Neville. Professor Lupin knew well enough to not allow Hermione to go against Harry as well, not that he thought Harry couldn't defend against her too. He had seen them duel each other in the Room of Requirement. He didn't want to give away too much of Harry's abilities or anything at all to suggest that Hermione could do equally as well. Ron and Neville pounded on Harry for over five minutes, all three using wands only and Harry was using his real wand. Harry was kept reasonably busy by the other two, but still managed to spot what looked like a Slytherin discussion group in the back corner. Their heads moved apart indicating that the discussion was over, and Vincent Crabbe's chair made a scraping sound. Harry quickly transferred his wand to his left hand and in a surprise move pulled his staff out of a hiding spot on his right leg. He used the staff to block a cutting curse from Crabbe before the Professor realized what was happening.

Crabbe then used an accio charm to summon Harry's staff and Harry allowed it. The staff sailed directly into Crabbe's outstretched hand and he grabbed it solidly. Hermione and Lupin saw the staff fly through the air and both knew something was going to happen if the summoner grabbed it. Staffs have protection wards against being taken or used by anyone the owner has not specifically included in the wards, Harry and Hermione were the only ones included in the wards. They could handle each others Staves, that was all that Frisel had allowed for. Six cutting curses came out of the staff slicing Crabbes left hand and fingers into bite sized pieces clear to his wrist. The staff and the bits of Crabbe fell to the floor leaving a shocked Vincent standing there spraying blood on the nearest students. Once Crabbe's brain had caught up with reality his eyes rolled back in their sockets and he collapsed onto the floor too. _Hermione knew that earlier, Malfoy had managed to cut several fingers off Pansy Parkinson's left hand in Transfiguration, and she was still in the Hospital Wing. This was going to be Bloody Tuesday_, she thought.

"No one touch that staff!" Lupin yelled and then repeated himself, "No one is to try to pick up that staff, no one!"

Hermione saw that no one was going to the aid of the stricken Crabbe, disgusted as she was by the thought of helping the Slytherin that just tried to kill Harry; she hurried to Vincent's side and tore a strip of cloth from his cloak. Using the Slytherin's wand as a lever to tighten it, she made a Muggle tourniquet just above his elbow to slow the bleeding. Harry had come near enough to safely summon his staff; he cleaned it up and tucked it away in its case. Professor Lupin, when he realized that Hermione had the situation mostly under control, confiscated Draco's wand, summoned the bits of Crabbe's hand and levitated Crabbe for the purpose of taking him to the Hospital Wing.

"Granger, Potter, you're in charge until it's time to leave for lunch." Said Professor Lupin as he left the classroom. "I suggest that you explain the safety features of your staff to the class." He yelled as he ran down the hallway with Crabbe hovering in front of him.

Harry made his way to the front of the classroom while Hermione cleaned herself up. Ron, Neville, Parvati and Lavender helped her since she was covered with blood from head to toe. Fortunately none of it was hers and that was all Harry was thankful for. It didn't take the four of them long to clean her up to the point that she didn't look like a walking war zone. The girls then shooed the guys away and hustled Hermione off to the Ladies Room where they could finish the job without the boys prying eyes.

Harry cleared his throat gaining most students attention, then he spoke, "I'm supposed to tell you something I don't know a whole lot about. I was given the staff a few days ago by a very special old gent who seemed to believe that I would need it. He did tell me that only myself and one other individual would be able to handle it," he paused, and after a few curious looks he continued, "No ... I'm not telling you who the other person is. He didn't tell me what would happen if someone else held the staff or tried to take it. I used the staff to block Crabbe's cutting curse, and when he followed it with a summoning charm ... I was too busy dealing with Ron and Neville's attack to be concerned about stopping it." While that wasn't exactly true, he could have stopped the summoning charm, he didn't think the results to Crabbe would be that dramatic. "I knew Crabbe wouldn't be able to use the staff against me ... I didn't know what it would do to him."

Harry looked around to find Malfoy and starred at him for a moment. "Mr. Malfoy," Harry called out, Draco looked away from his friends, towards Harry, "Since Crabbe attacked me after conversing with you and a few of your ... friends ... perhaps you can explain why?"

"I don't have to explain anything to you Scarhead." Responded Draco.

"I know you'll have to explain it to someone, since Professor Lupin took your wand with him." Stated Harry. "I suspect that the Headmistress will want to know why there are two of your friends in the Hospital wing this early in the term and what she will have to look forward to in the coming days.

After the girls entered the privacy of the Loo, "Hermione, why did you bother with that creep?" Asked Parvati.

"Someone had to or he would have bled to death." Sighed Hermione. She might have been exaggerating, but there was enough blood on her and the floor to think it was possible. Lavender looked up after rinsing some more blood out a cloth and handing it back to Hermione who was now down to her knickers and bra trying to get all the 'pureblood' off.

"What is Ron going to say?" Asked Lavender who still expected Ron to be her boyfriend. Parvati and Padma obviously hadn't said anything about Harry's birthday party and her change in partners.

Hermione never got a chance to respond. Parvati was cleaning her robes and felt something hard, round, long and invisible on her school robes. "What do you have here?"

Hermione looked at her not really following the question until realization dawned on her that Parvati was holding the staff case that was magically attached to her robes. "STOP! Or you'll end up like Crabbe!" Parvati dropped the robes and backed away.

"Sorry." Hermione said, relieved that Parvati was still alright. "It's another staff ... similar to Harry's. What happened to Crabbe's hand was because he took and held the staff ... it has protective wards." Lavender and Parvati looked at the robes as if they were a dragon ready to breathe fire.

"It's okay as long as you don't hold the staff itself." Said Hermione as she held out her hand to summon her robes from the floor. She left them hanging in mid air and pulled the staff out of its case, it expanded in her hand and made a thunk sound when it met the floor sending out a shower of gold sparks, she then leaned it against the closest mirror.

The two girls were in shock and not much help after that bit of wandless magic and their drooling over the staff. Hermione scourgified the rest of her clothes and got dressed. Replacing the staff in its case, she guided Lavender and Parvati to the Great Hall for Lunch. As she walked past the TD classroom, using their mind link, she mentally asked Harry if he and Ron would collect their books and things.

For lunch Ron and Seamus came with Harry and passed Lavender and Parvati their book bags. Harry had Hermione's bag and Luna appeared beside Ron, they all sat at the Gryffindor table. Neville and Ginny soon joined them and Harry brought the newcomers up to speed on Pansy's severed fingers, Crabbe's diced hand and Hermione's first aid talents.

With lunch about half over, and before any students had left, The Headmistress stood up to speak and all the students became quiet. "I have some good news ... Miss Parkinson is expected to be back in class tomorrow ... with all her fingers. Mr. Crabbe will soon be transferred to Saint Mungos for further treatment. After a talk with someone from Magical Law Enforcement, his future at this school will be decided. Miss Granger and Misters Malfoy and Potter ... will you kindly see me after you've finished eating." Then she sat down. There was a mad buzz of conversation that followed the announcement, which slowly reduced to a more normal background drone.

Draco made his way to the head table first and the Headmistress spoke to him, "Mr. Malfoy, this is only the first morning of classes and already you seem to be involved in two incidents. I am under some pressure to keep you here, but I will only tolerate your behaviour so far. I suggest that you sever connections with your existing cronies and cultivate a more studious group of friends. I don't want your name to come to my attention again unless it's in the form of praise for something well done. Professor Slughorn has your wand. Get out of my sight." Draco made his way to Horace and collected his wand after another tongue lashing then left the Great Hall.

Seeing that Malfoy had been thoroughly scolded, our otherwise happy couple, presented themselves to Minerva. Missus Potter ... sorry, Miss Granger," Minerva started to say. Her first two words caught their undivided attention and Hermione's face had a huge smile on it. Hermione looked up at Harry and he smiled back squeezing her hand. Minerva further collected her wits before continuing. "Your quick action and, Poppy tells me, your expertise, most likely saved Mr Crabbe from bleeding to death. As it was he required three blood replenishing potions that I am aware of. I fully expect there will be an award for your actions."

"Thank you Ma'am," responded Hermione as she bowed her head slightly in respect.

"Mr. Potter ... could you explain how you managed to loose possession of your staff so quickly?"

Harry knew something like this would come up and he had a story prepared. "Professor ... I was using my wand to shield against two attackers in front of me, namely Ron and Neville. I had noticed a Slytherin conference in the back of the classroom breaking up and transferred my wand to my left hand. When Crabbe stood, wand in hand, I drew my staff in time to block a cutting curse from him. My attention was drawn back to the first two when Crabbe summoned my staff. I knew my staff had its own protection, but I didn't know exactly what it would do. I expected it to stun him ... or something."

"And that would probably be what would have happened, Mr. Potter ... had your staff not just blocked a cutting curse from him. That explains how it happened. You have Practical Defence next I believe, please have Moody explain to the class about staffs, I don't want any more problems. No one has seen yours yet have they Miss Granger?" Minerva questioned.

"Lavender and Parvati have seen it Professor," responded Hermione, "I did ask them not to say anything."

"Yes ... well, we'll see what happens, I don't believe those two could keep a secret if their lives depended on it." Said Minerva, "I suggest you impress on them that it does."

"Yes Ma'am." Said Harry and they went back to their seats.

When they arrived back at their seats, Harry looked around, there really was no privacy, he cast a wandless muffliato charm for which Hermione gave him a disgusted look, then he spoke, "By now you all know that I have a staff. There hasn't been a good time to tell you all before, and now isn't the best time either. Hermione also has one." Lavender looked at Parvati with one of those 'why didn't you tell me' looks that she was almost famous for, when she realized that Harry and Hermione must now be a couple. Then Harry, looking specifically at Lavender and Parvati continued, "It is important for now, that nobody knows about Hermione's staff or that we are a couple. Let's meet tonight right after supper in the Room of Requirement." Everyone in the discussion nodded including Hermione, so there would be a meeting of nine tonight. Harry looked away for a moment and the muffliato charm was cancelled.

Nearly all of them ended up needing more books for the afternoon; there was a mad rush to various rooms. The class after lunch today was a double period of Practical Defence (PD), it looked like another full class. The usual Slytherin suspects were congregated in the back corner minus the two injured ones. When the normal starting time passed Hermione began looking around, trying to determine if Alastor could be hiding in plain sight ... disillusioned or under an invisibility cloak. Harry quickly caught on to what she was looking for and whispered it to Ron so he could search the room too. About five minutes later Hermione noticed a ripple in the background that seemed to be getting nearer to Moody's desk, she gave Harry a mental nudge and he picked up on her line of sight as the ripple moved across the front of the classroom and out the door. Shortly thereafter Moody's peg leg could be heard in the corridor, before he entered the classroom. The students greeted him with a rousing "Good afternoon Professor Moody".

Alastor grunted a response then yelled, "Constant vigilance." Startling most of the students. He then told the class that today and for the next few classes they would be listing, demonstrating and if necessary practicing spells that they were supposed to know.

Moody had been listing spells his second year students had mentioned, demonstrated and practiced during the morning on two boards. One board had purely defensive spells, the other had offensive spells and other charms. His day so far had been first and second years so the lists, with a few exceptions, contained the DADA spells common to those years. He had the first years go through their texts to list the spells they were to cover this year. The Unforgivables and a few other deadly spells were also listed. Harry noticed that _sectumsempra_ wasn't listed ... yet; he wondered if Malfoy might mention it, he wasn't planning to, it is not something you can practice in class.

Moody went through the spells already listed on the boards picking one student after another like a pop quiz. He had them demonstrate the spell on the student beside them and then reverse it. The Slytherins, of course, tried to jinx the Gryffindors who, for the most part had been in the old DA and had been taught by Harry how to block unfriendly spells.

At the end of the double lesson, the last pair was Draco and Hermione. Alastor told Draco which curse to use and he also told Hermione how to block it, not that he expected she wouldn't know already. Draco however, had other plans and a different spell in mind. Hermione had picked up on Harry's concern and signalled him with a thumbs up, behind her back, that she was ready. Harry had his arms crossed over his chest, his wand already clutched in his hand, ready to do something, he thought he knew what might be needed.

When Harry saw the ragged jet of purple flame shoot out of Draco's wand, he knew that was wrong ... very wrong. Instantly Harry jumped into action, Moody did as well. Mad-eye put up the strongest shield charm he could, knowing full well it couldn't stop the curse Draco used, but it might lessen the severity. Hermione knew what to do as well, she had positioned herself to be able to dive between two bookshelves if need be ... and now was that time. Her jump sideways was a pure leap of faith, once she was out of sight of everyone but Harry, and before she could hit the stone floor, she transformed into Caledfwlch and flashed into the far corner of the room where she could observe. No one would be looking in that direction.


	43. Chapter 43 Glass and Stones

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the books in the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling belong to the aforementioned J. K. Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

Not Another Author's Note: Many thanks to '**_thescribbler'_** for his kind assistance.

Originally brought up in chapter 22 and then again in 42:

PD is Practical Defence

TD is Theory of Defence or Theoretical Defence

**43 – Glass and Stones**

Harry conjured a thick wall of ice, to block Draco's curse, it also blocked Draco's sight of Hermione diving out of the way.  Harry had been expecting some kind of fire charm.  The purple curse, after blasting through Moody's shield, shattered the ice wall, blowing the pieces into the two nearest bookshelves and knocking down many of the books.  While the ice was flying around, Harry wandlessly disarmed Malfoy; not caring enough to summon the loose wand.

Harry had about had his fill of Draco at that moment. His wand was out and pointed at Malfoy's chest so fast it was but a blur, "_Incarcerous inflamarae_."  Harry shouted, and flaming ropes ejected out of his wand binding Draco, burning him and starting his robes on fire.  Moments later a 'flame-freezing' charm from Moody rendered the flames harmless.  A White Phoenix flew into position on Draco's shoulder and the next moment in a blinding white flash, both were gone.

Half a minute later, the shocked students still hadn't moved, let alone taken a breath.  They had almost no idea what had just happened, it was so fast.  Harry then noticed a faint white flash between the bookshelves, just before books started to be pushed out from between them.  Harry rushed over to give Hermione a hand up and a _Molly Weasley-ish_ hug. After a moment, Ron ran over and was included in what was now becoming a group hug. Neville, Parvati and Lavender had joined in too.

The next spectacular event included a significant red flash. The Headmistress appeared in the middle of the classroom, wand drawn and apparently ready for some kind of action.  As Caledfwlch, Hermione stopped to talk to Fawkes, because Fawkes knew how to get into Azkaban. After getting the right image from him, Hermione dragged the unconscious Malfoy there; dumping him unceremoniously into one of the cells at the lowest part of the prison.  Fawkes waited a minute or so before he informed the Headmistress about the trouble in the PD classroom.  Whether it was intentional or not, a few of the details were miss-translated, but the overall effect was grand.  Once Minerva was satisfied that everything was under control, she turned to find Mad-eye at her side with a smirk on his face.

"Those two kids are wasting their time here ... they should be in the Auror Academy."  Said Mad-eye, handing Minerva a now familiar wand.  "The last spell this wand did was the 'purple fire curse', the same one that nearly killed Miss Granger in The Department of Mysteries ... Dolohov's trademark curse.  Do you know what happened to young Mr. Malfoy?" Mad-eye asked Minerva.

"If I understood Fawkes correctly", answered McGonagall, "He's at the bottom of Azkaban ... still bound in burning ropes.  I think I'm going to savour that image," she continued, as she conjured a crystal vial to store the memory.  Moody started to chuckle and soon he was roaring with laughter.  Minerva watched him for a moment out of the corners of her eyes; then started to laugh too.

All of the seventh-year students in that class knew that the 'purple fire curse' was deadly.  Most wondered what had happened to Malfoy ... except a certain group of four that were still huddled together, sparing the occasional glance at the Professors.  Harry was holding on to his girlfriend ... no ... his wife with such tenderness and concern that she was wondering if ... yet hoping ... no, knowing ... he would never let her go.

Girlfriend or wife, Harry was a little confused about how he should be thinking of her, especially after that slip of the tongue by Minerva.  He knew the Goblin's position, but exactly how that translated into other Wizarding law he still wasn't certain.  Under Muggle law he knew they weren't married, that was a given.  Muggle world ... Magical world, somehow he had to straighten it out in his mind and in both worlds ... he needed to talk to her ... soon ... to get a clear picture and find out what she thought or wanted.

"_Potter _… potter … Potter … POTTER …_ **POTTER**_**". **Moody finally yelled loud enough to get Potter's attention away from Hermione, or more to the point his own musings about Hermione.  Harry didn't release Hermione, but he did manage to look up and over to the two Professors … a confused expression on his face.

"Yes … Professor?"  He replied, it sounded more like a question than a reply.

"Where did you learn that fiery rope spell?" asked Mad-eye.

Harry looked at Mad-eye for a minute, the cogs in his brain refusing to mesh properly.  He finally stammered, "I … I don't know … I … just did it … and it worked." Then Harry shrugged his shoulders.

"Next time add a flame freezing charm to it, you almost made a human torch out of Mr. Malfoy." Moody responded, "Not that I'm complaining, but the paper work, if you killed, him in school, is horrendous."

"Yes, sir," replied Harry, "The paperwork, Sir," his mind still with Hermione.  "Yes, sir."

"Keep in mind, Alastor," interrupted McGonagall in a quiet voice so that the students would not hear, "He's quite used to wandless magic where the actual incantation is meaningless compared to what his mind wants to happen."

"Wandless magic … just how good is he?" asked Alastor, "I had a small sample of it in your office … I wondered if that was his limit."

"Limits? I'm not sure he has any. His talents are … are superb," Minerva whispered, "Remus and I have both seen them duel against each other.  You, with your experience, might be a challenge ... but I doubt it.  Do you remember the last Death Eater raid in Diagon Alley?"

Moody looked at her, brow furrowed, deep in thought then replied, "Those two ... did that?"  Minerva nodded her head.  "By themselves?"  Minerva nodded her head again

After a minutes' thought, Alastor whipped out his stubby wand and cast a stunner in the general direction of the pair.  Harry threw out his hand as if to catch the red beam and it looked as if he caught all of the red light in his outstretched hand, then amplified it and hurled it back at Moody as a ball of sun-bright red light.  Mad-eye's hastily constructed shield was completely shattered, along with a desk and chair that he summoned to stop Harry's retaliation.  Minerva, when she realized what Alastor was doing, thought him completely mad.  She moved back a step and cast a large bell dome shield around the two of them.  The bell dome shield was little use in a straight on attack, but a spell hitting it on its curved surface would usually reflect off at an angle.  The remaining ball of red light struck the shield at a glancing angle and disbursed as it made its way to the outside windows.  Three windows blew out along with their retaining masonry and external shutters.  Students that were outside enjoying the September weather ran for cover under nearby trees.  A few souls braved the flying glass and debris to shoot _Reducto_ curses at the larger stones before they could hit someone.

Harry was now in full protection mode. Nothing and no one was going to hurt Hermione – which Moody would learn, shortly.  Harry faded himself and Hermione from sight.  They were already hovering an inch or two above the floor when Harry gave them a nudge with his magic and they glided through the open classroom door and into the corridor, leaving at least one very surprised Professor behind.  A few course corrections later and the pair were floating down the hall.

Hermione couldn't see for herself what was going on, she had her head buried in Harry's chest, holding on snugly with her arms while running her hands through his hair and trying desperately to calm him down with soothing emotions and thoughts, before he did some serious damage.  She could feel that an enormous amount of magical energy was built up in Harry.  She didn't know he was making them invisible.  By the time they neared the stairs, Harry's energy level had dropped to near normal and they were becoming visible to the students wandering the corridor.  Harry nudged their glide to a halt as they touched down, surprising Hermione; as she hadn't realized they were moving.  When the two broke apart, Hermione looked around and knew why they were being watched. There were loose bits of parchment, quills and other items scattered up and down the corridor along what was obviously their path.

Turning, to traverse their path, Harry and Hermione walked back up the corridor helping students pick up their scattered items.  Finally, on their way back to their Common Room, they overheard several students talking about some kind of explosion sending glass and stone debris showering down from the Practical Defence classroom.  Harry vaguely remembered a spell bouncing off something and breaking windows, Hermione looked at him curiously, trying to determine if he knew anything about it.

There was a fair bit of yelling going on in the office which lay adjacent to the room where Mad-eye attacked them. It seemed that Minerva McGonagall was giving the paranoid ex-Auror a serious tongue-lashing for his stupidity. Testing Harry's strengths and weaknesses by going after Hermione – or even putting her in the slightest danger – was something that rated serious demerits from the Headmistress.  Harry realized that avoiding the situation made a great deal of sense, since discretion was always the better part of valour.

After dropping off their book bags in their Common Room and giving Crookshanks and Hedwig some treats, Hermione picked up her text to review the chapters on Human Transfiguration.  Since the weather was good and there was time before supper, Harry suggested they find a secluded spot by the lake to talk and study.  It took but a heartbeat for her to agree.

Hermione thought as they walked.  _When he said the word 'talk', she became curious, he was becoming more of a talker than he used to be, true enough.  Then again, they had more fun and pleasurable things to talk about over the summer._  They had walked for a while now and were at the far end of the lake, if they continued walking back to the Castle they would be just in time for supper ... Harry stopped, turned, looked Hermione in the eyes and took her hands in both of his.  _She could see and feel the turmoil and confusion in him, what was his problem?  Then it clicked, Missus Potter, a slip of the tongue by McGonagall, Hermione Jane Potter, it sounded good, it sounded right.  She had practiced writing the name off and on since before that Yule Ball.  Oh Merlin ... was he going to propose to her ...here and now?  His mind was clearing, he was about to speak, it was now or never_ ... she put her index finger on his lips to stop the words from coming out.

"Harry," she whispered, "I love you ... and I know you love me ... if you're going to ask what I think you are going to ask ... you have to know that I would say yes."  His lips started to move, she pressed her finger harder on his lips to stop them.  "Now is not the right time and it's not for all the right reasons."  She stood on her toes, wrapped her arms around Harry's neck and proceeded to snog him senseless.  Harry responded in kind, reaching behind her, gathering her up so her arse filled his hands. As he lifted her, she wrapped her long, slender legs around him and ground herself against him; causing him to harden immediately.  Time was meaningless, they snuck the occasional lungful of air only to carry on again.  Finally ... both with damp knickers ... and wildly beating hearts, they had to break for air.  That's when they heard the gonging of the clock tower, it was suppertime, and they were far from the Castle.  To get back in any reasonable time, they would have to wait until they calmed down otherwise Hermione wouldn't be able to transform properly ... or ... Harry called for Fawkes.  They were flashed to the Antechamber that the Champions gathered in when they were selected by the Goblet of Fire.  Harry thanked Fawkes and caressed his feathers before Fawkes flashed away.  They took a few minutes to get themselves in order before entering the Great Hall.  While walking past the High Table, to their seats, they were watching each other out of the corners of their eyes and grinning smugly.

McGonagall was initially surprised at their entrance; there was only one door to that room, although she could think of several possible ways they could have arrived in there without using the door.

They made their way to a pair of waiting seats across from Ron, Luna, Neville and Ginny.  Lavender, Parvati and Seamus were beside them.  The group all noticed the still flushed faces on the new arrivals, Lavender saw the Transfiguration text and spoke up somewhat sarcastically, "Did you get much studying done?"

Hermione sighed, realizing that it probably was still that obvious.  "Actually no." stated Hermione, "I was trying to talk Harry out … of doing something …" Hermione let her reply hang there, hoping they would assume that the 'something' was going to be done to Draco.  Very few people knew what happened to Draco … that he had been unofficially taken to Azkaban.  Officially in there or not, it would still take a meeting of the Wizengamot and official documents to release him, following an investigation by Magical Law Enforcement as to how and why he arrived there.  With any luck Draco might not get out for a week or two.

Harry and Hermione, although the last to arrive for supper were the first of their group to leave the Great Hall.  The other seven left in ones and twos over the next few minutes and, based on their training from the old DA, they used various routes to get to the seventh floor. The Head Boy and Girl arrived simultaneously with Ron and Luna at the portrait of Barnabas the Barmy and his dancing Trolls.  Taking a wild chance on what Luna might think appropriate, Harry delegated to her to determine what form the Room of Requirement would take.

After Luna walked past the same section of wall three times a door appeared.  Luna opened it and entered first, followed by Ron who looked around quickly and nodded his head as if this was what he expected.  Luna wandered off to the left to secure a large booth while Ron hurried over to the bar on the right.  The Heads entered next and were quite surprised to see a near-normal looking inside of The _Three Broomsticks_, in Ravenclaw Colours.  It appeared to be self-serve since Ron was behind the counter bringing out frosty butter-beers for everyone.  Luna was sitting in the middle of a large horseshoe-shaped booth that could easily seat eight while smiling and humming quietly to herself 'Weasley is My King'.

Harry went to help Ron with the butter-beers leaving Hermione in a quandary as to where, if at all, to sit.  She decided to await Harry's return, it wasn't that she was unsure about sitting beside Luna … okay, maybe it was … a little bit.  More importantly she wanted to make sure she was beside Harry.

"Do you come here often?" asked Hermione.

"We used it a few times over the summer and again last night.  It was arranged a little differently those times.  We would have a few drinks, do a little roll playing, then make our way upstairs to a room for the night", replied Luna, in a quiet, though deadly serious voice.  "Ronnie seems to like that sort of thing."

Hermione thought to herself_,"Too much information!! … But then, that was Luna for you, no beating around the bush … (ewwwww … another bad pun)".  Thank Merlin Harry and Ron are coming back._  At that moment Parvati and Seamus entered, followed directly by Ginny and Neville.  The door had no sooner closed when it was flung open again by Miss Lavender Brown.

While Ginny and Neville slid in on Luna's right Harry and Ron put down the butter-beers and slid them around the table.  Ron shuffled in on Luna's left, followed by Lavender while Seamus and Parvati followed Neville into the 'C' shaped booth, leaving Harry standing beside Hermione.

Hermione realized that there was only one seating place left, either she or Harry would have to stand, it was obvious to Harry too.  Harry conjured a plush, chintz arm chair for himself and plopped down in it.  Hermione, seeing her opportunity, plunked her bottom down in Harry's lap, her legs over one of the arms, and her arms around Harry's neck.

Lavender was in shock as she sorted out the meaning of the seating arrangements.  Her suspicions from supper appeared to be confirmed.  First Harry was no where near Ginny, Ron and Hermione were separated just as far.  Seamus and Parvati she knew about.  Beside her, Ron and Luna were sucking face ... that was new since the end of last term.  Across from her, Neville had a silly grin on his face and the angle of Ginny's right arm suggested that she might be the reason, something that was also new since last term.  A movement on her left caught Lavender's attention. She could have sworn she saw Hermione grind her arse into Harry's lap as though she was trying to gain his attention, or, she thought, "_The attention of a growing part of him. This was not the straight laced, prim and proper Hermione Granger that she remembered from the last sex ... I mean six years"._  No one said she should bring a boy-toy, too.  The gossipy side of her recognized the new relationships and relished all of the fun she could have telling everyone about what she was seeing.  She had no idea that Parvati had been witness to this at Harry's birthday party and again a few days ago, or she would have been mad at her for not telling.

In order to not reveal to Lavender that Parvati already knew and thus cause more problems, Harry started out like this, "Parvati, Lavender, Seamus ... you were asked to come here so that I could request that you not reveal the obvious changes to some of our personal relationships that occurred this summer." Harry stated while waving his hand around the table.  Lavender understood that she wasn't going to have a new gossip topic if she heeded Harry's request.  Harry continued, "Old Mouldy-shorts is after me. Since he couldn't kill me as a baby, he now thinks he has a point to prove in front of his death-nibblers.  He knows of course that Ron and Hermione are my best friends, and it's far too late to hide that.  If he finds out that Hermione and I are going together, she will be a far greater prize to him, than she is now.  We all know that there are junior nibblers in the Castle who are reporting all the goings-on, factual or otherwise.  I don't want any of us to be in any more danger than we are now or need to be.  If you don't think you can keep it quiet, see me after this meeting and I will obliviate you."  Not that Harry had ever tried to obliviate anyone, but it sounded good, he also had no doubt that Hermione could do it.

The three agreed, Lavender somewhat reluctantly, but there was a good reason to agree, she didn't want her friends hurt.  Harmless gossip is one thing, okay sometimes it isn't completely harmless, but it doesn't end up with you being hunted down and killed, or worse.

Hermione brought up the issue of their staves ... Harry's was now common knowledge, but Hermione wanted hers to remain a secret until it needed to be revealed.  Everyone wanted to see the staves up close so Harry repeated what the Headmistress told him about the built in protections.  They could touch them, feel them, but not grab or pick them up.  Hermione grudgingly got up, looking down as she did so to see the obvious bulge in Harry's pants, the other staff.  She gave him a wicked smile; then blew a saucy kiss at him as he pulled his staff out of the case at his leg.  She pulled her staff out of the case attached to her robes.  They were placed side by side on the table, no one even tried to touch them, but they were being examined very closely.  Hermione scrunched back down in Harry's lap; centering his prodigious erection between the cheeks of her bum; so that she could feel all of him.  He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her back into his chest and nibbling her neck through her silky, long, bushy hair.  She desperately wished that she could vanish her clothes just enough so that they were touching 'skin-on-skin'.  She was wearing the regulation school skirt – though hers' was made from Acromantula silk and fit her quite a bit better than the school-issued skirts – but the soft, forest-green silk knickers underneath were definitely _not_ 'standard issue'. Harry loved caressing her arse when others weren't looking and feeling her shift around in his lap was both a terrible and yet wonderful torment. The other couples, making good on the opportunity, followed the lead of the Head Students in one way or another, and it was not too long before Harry's hands were taking full advantage of the _'notice-me-not' _charm that she had surreptitiously cast, so that he could caress her much more thoroughly.

Lavender watched, feeling her own ardour increase, as Hermiones' and Ginnys' breath became faster and shorter as they squirmed on their boyfriends.  The moment, however, that Hermione began to moan aloud, she threatened to leave them to their 'group orgy'. Chagrined, the couples backed down and returned to serious business.

After the staves were put away, the next item on the agenda was the D.A. which would be starting up again as 'Dumbledore's Army' a Duelling Club.  Hermione asked those present to talk to everyone from the old D.A. that they could find and tell them there would be a meeting here Friday after supper, to discuss how to organize it, newcomers would be welcome too.

The final topic that had been on most of their minds, Parvati asked, "What happened to Draco?"

"He's in Azkaban", stated Hermione. Everyone looked at her in amazement, even Harry - though for a different reason.  "I took him there ... as Caledfwlch … after I ... after I found out where to go from Fawkes.  She paused, gaining a few curious looks, before continuing, "I understand he'll be there for at least a week before he could possibly be released."  Everyone else looked confused except Harry.  "Well, McGonagall said they had to investigate how he got there and why before making a ruling regarding his release ... or further incarceration."

With the meeting concluded most of the couples wandered off to various corners. Conveniently, the Room complied with their unspoken needs and provided secluded places for them to carry on with more pleasurable activities.  Lavender left when the meeting broke up, planning to find Dean Thomas, whom she had been seeing over the latter part of the summer, and enjoy some snogging with him.  As Harry and Hermione got up to leave,  they saw Luna's head slip below the level of the table, and Ron blush furiously when he recognized that his two best friends knew what was happening.


	44. Chapter 44 Playing Games

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the books in the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling belong to the aforementioned J. K. Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

I know in book 7 JKR changed Hermione's middle name from Jane to Jean, presumably to differentiate her from Delores Jane Umbridge. Since this is Books 1-6 compliant (I hope) I'm sticking with Hermione Jane Granger.

Not Another Author's Note: Many thanks to thescribbler for his kind assistance with this chapter and the Latin for the following spell.

Revision A 12/04/08: Corrections: 'fifth year class' changed to 'sixth year class' and some titles bolded (again).

Revision B: Changes21/04/08 Due to comments such as (but not limited to): 'When H/Hr have children how are you going to differentiate between Little James and the baby or child named James?' I have decided to change the name of Harry's trouser snake from 'Little James' to 'Prongs junior'. Both are in reference to his Father, a Marauder, and the personality of the 'wee beast'.

"_Mortuis__ cruciamentum spiritui non corpus mortem" _roughly translated, means 'death to the disembodied spirit" or 'death to the tormented, non-corporeal spirit'.

RESTRICTED Content Warning: 'nuff said

**Chapter 44b – "Playing Games"**

**_Friday, September 5th_**

The trio, along with Neville, Poppy, Minerva, Remus, and Mad-eye found themselves on the Quidditch Pitch about an hour before lunch. During the previous hour Harry and Hermione had been going over the process to destroy the Horcrux with Salazar, Godric and Rowena. Remus had left a prefect in charge of his sixth year class with some assigned reading. Ginny and Luna were in that class and were a little peeved at not being able to go out to the Quidditch Pitch to watch the show. The class was to hand in a written summary of the reading at the next TD class.

Harry had not yet had a chance to express his displeasure to the ex-Auror about his unwarranted attack in the practical defence room. He was frustrated that Moody had so underappreciated his skills and power. It was a pride thing, he admitted to himself, but it still rankled him and he needed to express it. However, there were more pressing matters to attend to, and so he let the matter slide for the moment.

Harry had placed a table from the Gryffindor dressing room in the centre of the pitch, Ravenclaw's wand, back in its box, was on the table. After removing the box top Harry levitated the wand out and placed it on the table, in the centre, the box was dropped to the grass. Harry started stripping the protections away from the wand until all that was left was the original magic of the wand and the Horcrux curse. All the spectators were far enough away at the base of the stands, Hermione was flying overhead as Caledfwlch. Harry stood well back this time, his wand in his left hand and his staff gripped securely in his right. He cast the spell to purge the soul fragment with his wand, his staff held and pointed in the same direction, ready to destroy another piece of Voldemort's soul.

The soul fragment, rocketed away from Harry this time, a totally unexpected reaction, it seemed to be heading up towards Caledfwlch. Harry, caught by the surprise, took a moment longer to react; the eyeball in his staff was keeping track of the piece of Voldemort's soul. Caledfwlch changed direction, heading back towards the centre of the Pitch, Harry paused nervously, waiting for the opportune moment ... almost ... almost ... Harry mouthed the spell _ Mortuis cruciamentum spiritui non corpus mortem _and a nearly blinding white light leapt from the staff and captured the soul fragment. An ear shattering explosion followed, Caledfwlch braced herself for the shock wave that she assumed would follow the blast. It sent her head over tail feathers, into a spin, from which she recovered, while loosing about half her altitude.

Caledfwlch landed, transformed back and rejoined Harry as Hermione, a little shaken (but not stirred) from her close call. "That!" said Hermione, "Is one thing I don't like about flying!" Harry, after making certain that Hermione was alright, checked Ravenclaw's wand, detecting nothing but the magic of the wand itself. Making sure that the damned bit of soul was gone and could harm no one else, Hermione had him levitate the wand back into its box before returning it to Rowena and having her check it personally.

As they were putting things away Harry thought he heard a faint voice calling to him, not by name, but because the voice was from somewhere nearby. He heard it again as he was putting his staff away. Looking at his wife-to-be, he realized that Hermione was completely oblivious to the sound. He could hear Minerva and the other staff members approaching as he struggled to hear the sound more clearly. The quiet voice sounded nothing like any of them; it had more of a hiss to it. Harry looked around again; then it dawned on him to look down towards his feet. There, in the grass, was a small green snake. If he hadn't been looking for it, he would never have noticed it. Harry stretched his arm out to keep Hermione from stepping on it as she moved to step around him.

Hermione looked at Harry curiously as he knelt down on the grass. It took her a moment to see the snake. Harry quickly performed a few revealing spells including one in parsel-tongue to be sure that the snake was just that, a snake ... and it was. Crookshanks had trotted up from across the pitch to stand beside the snake; Hermione knelt down and started petting Crookshanks. While Harry appeared to be carrying on a conversation with the snake, Hermione spoke to Crookshanks. "You clever cat, where have you been all week and what have you found for us?" Of course she didn't expect an answer from Crookshanks, but maybe Harry would have something to tell her from his conversation with the snake. Harry put his hand down between C'ba, the snake and Crookshanks. The half-Kneazel's head moved closer and sniffed the snake as it slithered up Harry's arm and under the sleeve of his robes. Hermione looked at him, she cringed and though he was crazy to let a snake go up his arm.

Crookshanks growled and hissed at Ron when he approached with the group of teachers and Neville. Ron stayed back a couple of steps; he still had never apologized to Crookshanks over the incident where Ron thought Crookshanks had eaten Scabbers.

Hermione knew she could wait to find out what the story was about the snake, she didn't expect Harry to say anything with all the teachers around. Crookshanks appeared unconcerned by the presence of the snake. Harry had let it crawl up his arm, so it was obviously not a threat. Hermione picked up Crookshanks and they made their way to the Castle and then our couple, with pets went to the Library.

Harry and Hermione returned from giving Rowena back her wand; she was very pleased that it was in perfect condition. They caught the tail end of lunch and an afternoon of PD with Moody.

Mad-eye was still playing games with them, sneaking around the classroom while disillusioned for a few minutes at the beginning. Harry, Hermione and Ron were getting bored with his antics; several other students were just beginning to catch on to what was actually happening.

While Mad-eye was moving across the front of the classroom, Harry concentrated his mind on the door, it closed and sealed. Ron shot a tripping jinx and Hermione sent out ropes to bind him. Moody was able to block and dodge those spells easily and continued to move towards the door, but the Golden Trio had caught the attention of the rest of the students, most of whom, were trying to figure out what was going on. Harry sent wave after wave of blockable curses towards Moody until the ex-Auror got used to the idea, then Harry mumbled '_Serpensortia' _three times quickly, placing three large snakes around Mad-eye's feet. Harry started hissing at them in parseltongue, to make them herd Mad-eye back towards his desk.

When C'ba heard the other snakes slithering around and answering Harry, she became curious. Stretching out, she rose from Harry's warm shirt pocket, poking her head out through the neck hole in Harry's robes for a look around. Neville had been watching Harry closely since he had started conjuring the large snakes and gasped when little C'ba's head became visible under Harry's chin.

As fast as Moody would destroy the snakes, Harry made more. With Hermione and Ron also sending spells towards Moody, he couldn't keep up and was soon forced up and onto his desk. He could manage to block all the curses the others were sending if he ignored Harry's snakes. There were now a dozen large snakes surrounding Moody's desk.

Harry was tempted to cast something significantly more powerful at the ex-Auror, to pay him back for the stunning curse which he had hurled at Hermione, earlier in the week, but resisted, on the grounds that he didn't really want to demonstrate to some of the other students just how much more advanced he was, magically.

Mad-eye finally revealed himself and called off the attack, Harry called back the snakes and eliminated them. C'ba didn't seem overly concerned about the fate of the other snakes and eventually returned to Harry's shirt pocket. The balance of the afternoon went smoothly since the remaining Slytherins were lacking a formidable leader, if indeed Draco was formidable.

When the class ended, Harry reminded Alastor about the organizational DA meeting after supper in the Room of Requirement.

The results of the DA meeting were that the sixth and seventh years would meet on Friday evening, the fourth and fifth years on Saturday evening and first through third years on Sunday morning. Harry had arranged things so that if any student, other than those teaching, wanted to attend a meeting that did not include their year group, they could only observe unless they had permission from one of the sponsoring Professors, either Moody or Lupin. It made for easy, organized classes and almost completely eliminated complaints from students that they were being 'left out' of advanced classes or weren't being exposed to some of the most sophisticated teaching that Harry, Moody, and Lupin were offering.

The DA meeting ended well before curfew and since the Heads were not scheduled for security rounds, they decided on some private time together in their rooms.

**_In the Head's Common Room_**

Once in their Common Room, Harry plunked down in a cushy Chintz Armchair facing the fireplace. Hermione glanced at the fireplace, which burst into warming flames and she nestled sideways into Harry's lap. Harry quickly spoke to C'ba, the snake, who had coiled up asleep in his shirt pocket, and suggested she might be more comfortable near the fire. C'ba slipped out of Harry's shirt pocket, startling Hermione who had nearly forgotten about her. Hermione sat there tentatively while C'ba slithered down the front of Harry's shirt, then across her lap and down Harry's leg to the floor.

Slithering across to the fireplace, C'ba coiled up on the hearth near the fire. Hermione sat there for what seemed like a minute or two just watching C'ba, then their arms wrapped around each other, basking in their closeness, in both mind and body. A chaste kiss and an extra squeeze were soon followed with locked lips and exploring tongues. Hands eventually started to roam and a certain soft, warm bottom began to grind its way slowly into his crotch. Perhaps it was the fire growing within, since the fire in the fireplace was dwindling now, that caused them to shed their outer clothes and stack then on the table beside them.

"_Harry?" _Hermione looked at him, and saw the fire in his eyes. She was naked, save for her soft, white cotton bra and knickers and he looked at her with undisguised love and desire. He still had his jeans on since they were trapped between her and the chair, until he stood, picking her up with him. She squealed and shivered in delight as he concentrated on opening the snap and zipper, of course the squeal could have been due to where Harry's right hand was positioned under her bum. A rush of desire flooded her system as his thumb migrated between her legs; rubbing her sex through the soft, cotton gusset of her knickers. His jeans soon dropped to the floor, he sat again, kicking them away. The painful bulge that had been constrained in his jeans was given more freedom and soon found itself protruding through the opening in the front of his boxers.

Prongs junior found a hiding spot between the soft, silky cheeks of his lovers' arse. Laughing to herself, Hermione began methodically squeezing and releasing the playful fellow, driving Harry crazy with lust and desire. The front clasp of her bra continued to frustrate. He was jealous of its location, nestled between her delicate orbs. He struggled with it for a moment, and then ... _finally_, he managed to unhook it. The small triangles of material sprung aside, exposing the twins ... two hard-pointed hemispheres of sensuous flesh that seemed to beg for undivided attention. Hermione shifted herself around at Harry's suggestive nudge, allowing both his hands to pay attention to both of her breasts, and allowing his mouth and tongue to kiss, nibble and torture her neck with pleasure, from behind. Her hands were alternating between guiding his hands over her breasts, and caressing the head of his steely erection. It soon became apparent to her that, although she was most happy with the attention that her upper body was receiving, she wanted more. Her sex was hot and wet with desire, but lacking any direct attention. The ache she felt for his touch was acute and it wasn't going to be satisfied casually. Her legs already spread in anticipation, she took his right hand in hers; moving it, against its will, from her left breast to plunge it deep into her knickers. Her slender frame shook the moment his fingers slipped easily into her well-lubricated folds, brushing her clit and massaging her sex. She moaned in pleasure and let go the tight controls she had learned to hold over her magic. It was like a great dam, letting the spring floods rush forth. Her emotions - joy, love, lust - went flooding into Harry's mind and almost at once, overcame his own, powerful self-control.

Rubbing her sex felt so good that he knew he'd lose it soon. The moment that the two middle fingers of his right hand entered her core he came; covering her hand and back with his white, pearly seed. His release was all it took for her to fall over the precipice of orgasm. As she cried out his name, her magic rose up in her and would not be denied. It sought out its mate – its equal – in him and bound itself passionately and permanently.

They were both tense as taut bow strings for a minute. Harry was trying to push his cock further into her cheeks and coax another spurt out of him, Hermione closed her legs while her sex squeezed his hand; trying to milk Harry's fingers - both of them trying desperately to hang on to the sensations they were feeling and sharing.

**_In Greater Hangleton ..._**

Somewhere in the caves and tunnels below Riddle Manor ... Voldemort screamed out Harry's name as he stumbled and fell. He remained unconscious and alone for over ten minutes this time.

Lucius Malfoy was the first to find him lying on the tunnel floor. He yelled for Bellatrix ... there was no response. He began levitating his Master and moving him in the direction of the bedchamber he shared with her. Bella, being as much or more of a night person than her Lord and Master, was sound asleep in their bed when Malfoy entered. She awoke abruptly to the creak of the door opening and had her wand pointed at them both, a cruciatus curse half escaped her lips. Lucius was used to this type of greeting from her, he was also getting more and more used to seeing his Master collapsing in agony. Lucius floated Voldemort onto the bed and left him to the care of Bellatrix, closing the spooky door on his way out.

**_Back in the Heads' Common Room_**

Since both of them were feeding from and responding to each other's emotional highs, it took a while for them to calm down and relax. The fire in the fireplace was long since out, but they were kept warm from the embers still glowing inside them. While her sex was no longer trying to milk Harry's fingers, Hermione's legs were keeping his warm hand trapped in her core, enjoying the feel of his fingers wiggling inside her. Her left hand that was still between them was now wrapped fully around the soft messy organ that was no longer, Prongs junior. Harry was still in heaven with his right hand trapped in her sex, his left was teasing and cradling her Twins one at a time ... first Left, then Right, and back again, while his lips were busy kissing her neck and nibbling on her ear. _The Twins were each a nice handful_, he thought_, any more would be a waste. Could actual sex be any better than this?_ ... neither one knew.

When Harry felt he had his strength back and could stand and carry her, he suggested they move to the bedroom for the rest of the night ... She released his right hand, groaning as his fingers slipped out of her, she felt the cold between her legs and hoped they would have another go at it before they went to sleep ... and they would. Harry placed her on her feet on the warm rug beside the bed and gently cleaned them both off with a wandless '_Tergeo_' cleaning spell. Hermione turned, stood on her toes, and gave him a quick kiss and hug before trundling off to the loo. When Harry heard her washing up and doing her teeth, he too made use of their shared facilities.

When he finally returned, she was in bed wearing fresh knickers and a big smile. The big smile gave away the fact that the fresh knickers were a waste of clean clothes and time. During the summer she had come to the realization that she needed extra knickers, now that she had HIM for a boyfriend. He could be so loving and caring and he was just so damn sexy, she would make them wet just thinking about him ... _remembering the feel of his hands going__ through her hair ... oh damn, the long hair, not the short hairs_ ... too late. She budged over a bit as he got into bed; then snuggled over his outstretched arm and into his left side. His strong arm wrapped around her waist and held her gently, yet snugly to him. She rested her head on his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his chest, they were already floating. A movement of his other arm and the covers came over them and stuck themselves down, loosely trapping the pair. At least they wouldn't float away and into something ... like the fireplace.

Harry had a bright idea – which he hoped he could pull off without frightening Hermione. She had started playing with the Hungarian Horntail again, knowing that would get him started ... or at least counting on it. In reality it took nothing but her presence to get him started, and it didn't take long for Harry's left hand to find its way to her knickers-covered silky smooth bottom. Slowly, while moving his hand around her contours, he morphed the hand until it was wide enough to fully capture both of her lower cheeks. She looked at him curiously as he began kneading and squeezing her bottom while surreptitiously stretching his middle finger, guiding it between her legs and under her knickers until it slipped inside those warm and slippery folds of skin that tried hopelessly to protect her wetness from his fingers' wander lust.

Watching her face as she played with the dragon, he saw her eyes bug out and look up at him. She could see and feel his right hand was stroking through her hair ... the long hair ... and she could feel his other hand on her arse ... both hemispheres... somehow that was wrong ... what was even more wrong was that finger that was migrating into her and through her sex, she smiled and shuddered as it rubbed over her clit and began playing in the sparse curls above. Hermione gasped and physically shivered from head to toe, as she looked, pleading for answers, into his gleaming, emerald-green eyes.

As she met his gaze, his right hand stroked through her hair and down her back then found its way up to her left twin and its rock hard nipple. She had stopped playing with his dragon, unable to concentrate on anything but the lightning-like jolts of pleasure shooting through her body and mind. Her left hand found its own way down to Prongs junior and was stroking, tweaking and grasping the poor fellow in an autonomous response to the surges of pleasure and energy that were wracking her mind and slender frame. Her mind was completely wrapped up in what was happening to her tush, between her legs and in her sex. Harry was pushing all the right buttons, including the exposed one on Left and she knew he was feeling all the pleasure and excitement that she was feeling. If he kept this up much longer she was afraid her heart would explode, it was beating so hard and fast. Harry's body suddenly stiffened and a moment later she could feel his orgasm squirt past her fingers that triggered a similar explosion deep in her core. It felt like the crescendo in the final act of an opera and they held each other tighter in a hopeless attempt to maintain the climax to their story. As Harry's body relaxed and Prongs junior became smaller, Hermione collapsed on Harry's chest, both of them completely exhausted.

For now she would enjoy, in the morning she would have a talk with Harry about surprising her. She had expected for a while now that his morphing abilities would eventually intrude on their sex life. When and how was now answered. She had settled down and was now enjoying the finger that was still embedded in her sex and aimlessly stroking through her short hairs. Smiles danced across their lips and as they slept, each unconsciously maintained their hold on the other.

**_Back in Greater Hangleton ..._**

Voldemort had recovered and was awake again. He immediately called a meeting of his Lieutenants. He knew Potter was behind whatever was happening to him, he also knew he hadn't been able to penetrate the stupid boy's mind since the beginning of the summer and he couldn't figure out why. He wanted Nott, Goyle, Crabbe and Lucius to have their kids spy on Potter and send back any information they could glean. Voldemort knew that Vincent Crabbe and Draco were, at this moment, not at school, but they would be returning soon. As the meeting was about to end, Voldemort stiffened, stretching out straight as a broom and screamed "Hermione!" before dropping to the floor. Bella was first to his side, he wasn't breathing; she and Lucius tried some spells to awaken him. Finally Voldemort started breathing heavily, his heart was racing, but he was not awake.

**_Back In Harry's Bedroom_**

A few hours after their extraordinary experience they woke up again for some reason. Harry woke up first, something in the back of his mind had triggered it. Hermione awakened when Harry tried to regain his left hand by removing it from her very wet sex. Once Harry had his hand back to its normal size, he was able to savour the tastes that remained on his left middle finger. Hermione snickered at his antics and even offered him her left hand that she had just used to scoop up her own juices. He stuffed her offered hand in his mouth, licking and slurping all the flavour away. She smiled and snickered, believing him to be crazy. So long as he was her crazy boyfriend and lover, he could do what he wanted.

Since he had been exceptionally good to her in the chair, and in bed, she was going to instigate a third act to show him how appreciative she was. When his concentration returned to her, she was again playing with his dragon, he noticed she had tied up her hair in a ponytail; she didn't often do that in bed and wondered what she had in mind. His right hand gently tipped her head to face him, his lips engaging hers in a searingly passionate kiss that cried out his needs. In her eyes he could sense a devilish desire he had never quite seen before. When their tongues met her left hand snapped down to again engulf Prongs junior. His green eyes lit up in surprise until she broke the kiss and disappeared under the silk covers.

He saw her legs pop out past the end of the covers when he looked down, then felt her warm breath in his nether regions. She was working Prongs junior and his luggage, gently with both hands now. He didn't even want to consider what he thought she might be up to, in case he was disappointed. It took only moments for her to make Prongs junior jump to attention. Hermione pinched his tip, then he felt something warm and wet make its way from where Prongs junior's luggage lay cradled in her warm hand, all the way up Prongs junior's underside, causing sensations that made him shudder and squirm, finally engulfing Prongs junior's tip in searing wet heat that nearly drove him mad. A shiver went down Harry from the top of his head to the tip of his toes causing his toes to curl up painfully. Her lips surrounded him and her tongue slid back and forth, round and round, then over Prongs junior's tip repeatedly, making him jerk and twitch in excitement. Poor Harry was loosing his mind, he was trying desperately to hold off the explosion that threatened to be imminent. Prongs junior and Harry had never felt anything this wonderful before, the wet heat, her warm breath ... his whole body continued to quiver and shake until he suddenly went stiff as a board. He shouted her name - her only warning, she held her breath and closed her throat as she slid her mouth a little further down his shaft, stopping at her hand. Microseconds later he thrust and a hot jet of semen washed around her mouth. Fortunately she had a firm grip on Prongs junior with her right hand so he wasn't forced further into her mouth when Harry thrust. The taste sensation was better that she expected, still quite salty, though acceptable. She swallowed, then swirled her tongue around Prongs junior's tip again, cleaning him up and keeping him at attention. Harry groaned, stiffened and Prongs junior produced a mini-squirt before gradually softening and finally shrinking from her mouth, succumbing to a pathetic limp death in her hand.

**_Greater Hangleton_**

Lucius knew both Potter and the Granger girl were going to be the Head Students this year. He wondered if that blood-traitor Weasley would be on the outs with them because he didn't get picked for Head Boy?

He had been pushing his friends on the Wizengamot for the quick release of his son. Without that fool Fudge in control and Umbridge to back him up, he felt he was wasting his money and time with the effort.

_**Back in Harry's Bedroom**_

Harry might have thought of whistling a funeral march for Prongs junior if he wasn't too busy trying to catch his breath and keep his heart in his chest. He couldn't believe Hermione would do that for him, or, more to the point could do that to him, WOW! He needed to do something extra special for her ... when he recovered ... if he recovered.

Hermione had felt every reaction of his to her ministrations arousing her as much as himself. She had been nearing her own climax when Prongs ejaculation triggered Miss Jane and Hermione had to concentrate very hard to not bite down on Prongs junior. Eventually she slithered back up to her usual spot, a huge grin on her face, she knew she had done something special for him; he had never reacted like that before. She quickly found herself in a warm bear hug, looking into a pair of sparkling emerald eyes. Harry soon began to recover, his breathing slowed as did his heart rate. She too was recovering since she shared every nuance of the adventure with him in their shared feelings Hermione hugged him back, quite happy to remain in his loving embrace.

"Hermione?" He croaked.

She knew from the skew of his voice and the timing that he wanted to reciprocate the pleasure she had given him. She could tell he was still basking in it. "Tomorrow," she said, "I think ... to do what you want ... as well as you want...you'll need your strength." With a smile on her face, she continued, "Good night Lover, sweet dreams." Hermione mused, she had never called him Lover before ... within the minute they were both fast asleep again in each other's arms.


	45. Chapter 45 The Contract

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the books in the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling belong to the aforementioned J. K. Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

Not Another Author's Note: Many thanks to **_thescribbler_** for his kind assistance with this chapter.

Edward Normalis, introduced in chapter 42, has had his name changed to Edouard Gerard Doucet and so I guess his old nickname of E-normous won't work either. Blame my beta, he made me change it. I did rather like the nickname though, but neither of us liked Normalis. Further note: though his name sounds French he knows only English, the name came from North American settlers many generations ago. He did his first year at Whistler Mountain Institute for Magical Education in Western CANADA, and his family moved to England over the summer.

Several late changes to the previous chapter including: Due to comments such as (but not limited to): 'When H/Hr have children how are you going to differentiate between Little James and the baby or child named James?' I have decided to change the name of Harry's trouser snake (not C'ba a real snake) from 'Little James' to 'Prongs junior'. Both are primarily in reference to his Father, a Marauder. The name reflects the characteristics of the wee beast. Seeming to have a mind of its own, it tries to get Harry in trouble by going where he isn't supposed to go yet, such as trying to get into Hermione's Forbidden Forest.

**Chapter 45 – "The Contract"**

**_Saturday, Sept. 6th_**

They slept late and would have woken up quite refreshed had it not been for Harry's dreams. He kept dreaming about her and what she dared to do, his heart would race, his breathing would become hot and heavy and he would squirm and thrust his hips towards her just as he had done. She, of course, in her mind could sense all his feelings and emotions each time the dream recurred, causing her to wake up in much the same state as him, fully aroused, while hanging on to a twitching and wiggling Harry. She suspected her presence, tucked into his side, might be a contributing factor to the repetition of his dream. She finally gave up trying to return to sleep; it was obviously long past breakfast judging by the light coming in the window. She knew from experience it would be difficult to get out of bed without waking him up, but she tried ... and he stirred as soon as she did. Hermione gave him a fleeting kiss on the cheek and whispered that she would be right back before leaving to clean herself up for the day. By the time she was done Harry was set to do the same.

Harry found her sitting in the cushy arm chair in their Common Room, with Crookshanks on her lap and an open book occupying her hands. She had somehow acquired an assortment of pastries that were on a platter on the table beside her. Harry didn't immediately notice C'ba until he called for her. She poked her head up beside Crookshanks and answered Harry. Harry leaned over the back of the chair kissing Hermione's neck and nibbling on her ear while enjoying the view down the front of her jumper. They heard the portrait open and McGonagall's voice calling to them before the Headmistress entered.

"Mr. Potter, Miss Granger," she called as she entered, then once inside in a softer voice she continued, "Ahh ... Dobby told me you two were finally up and dressed."

They were both startled by Minerva's sudden appearance and concerned about the possible reasons for her to search them out.

Hermione got up and joined Harry to face Minerva, but before they could ask her, she spoke, "I received a message from Severus an hour ago, Voldemort collapsed twice last night. As far as Severus knew, at the time he sent me the message, Voldemort hadn't regained consciousness. That's the good news ... the bad news I'm afraid is that in between episodes, he ordered your deaths as well as the death of Mr. Weasley."

The teens looked at her curiously before it dawned on them that she meant Ron.

"It would seem that Voldemort is no longer concerned with killing you himself, Mr. Potter, perhaps he has found out about the horcruxes that you two and Albus have destroyed." Added Minerva.

"With four out of his seven soul fragments destroyed, could that cause him to collapse?" asked Hermione.

"I have no idea, Miss Granger ... perhaps one of the Founders could answer that" replied Minerva. Out of curiosity, were you two doing anything last evening that might explain Voldemort's condition or reaction?"

Harry and Hermione looked at each other for a long moment ... the Headmistress noticed the pink flush produced on their faces.

"Severus has reported Voldemort having several fainting and dizzy spells over the latter part of the summer break, nothing however quite this dramatic." Minerva said, then added, "If you were doing something … different last night … then just nod your head." Hermione's eyes bugged out when Harry nodded and they blushed some more. "Interesting", was almost the last she said about that subject. "I am going to try to find Mr. Weasley and inform him of Voldemort's orders to kill him. If you decide you wish to elaborate on last night's activities, I don't want the details, just some indication of what made last night different than what may have gone on during the summer. You two are both of age and Bonded, therefore I can't stop you if you choose to pursue those activities ... so long as no one gets hurt." Minerva looked pointedly at her cleverest student in over forty years of teaching.

Hermione responded, "Harry, if anything, is overprotective, but never less than the perfect gentleman, Professor."

"Right!" Said McGonagall, "Be careful you two."

"I don't think she believed you," whispered Harry.

As the Headmistress turned, about to leave, she remembered the other thing. "This morning quite a number of the Gryffindor students have reported some sort of vandalism that happened overnight. Numerous items were floating in mid air, some dropped and broke, others landed undamaged. Several students were dropped to the floor meters from their bed. A few speculated that some purebloods were making love. None of them, of course, would admit to it. I told them that any incident like that, something I've never been aware of, would have had to be in the same room as them so they quickly dropped that idea. If it happens again, I may have to seriously investigate the phenomenon. I trust that you two can solve the mystery and it won't happen again?" Minerva finished turning and left the same way she came.

After McGonagall had gone out the portrait door Hermione turned to Harry saying, "Merlin ... we have to be more careful Harry, I never expected the effects to extend beyond our rooms."

"Do you really expect me to believe that we caused all that?"

"Unless half the Gryffindors in this tower were doing the same thing last night ..." responded Hermione.

"Yea ... I guess so," said Harry, "Apparently I wasn't too far off when I said we could destroy a small village while we made love."

"Merlin, Harry." She looked at him, not sure whether to be horrified or just aghast at the power of their bonding. She knew that Harry _always _radiated tremendous power….but if their lovemaking significantly amplified it, they were going to have to work hard to temper the effect.

"Maybe we could set up a bedroom in the Chamber of Secrets," said Harry, "it's several hundred feet below the lowest dungeon ... and who cares if we disrupt some Slytherins."

"Forget it Harry. That would be awful at best. If we're going to make love, it will be here, in our bed, where it's warm and safe." She said it in a way which told Harry that she was not in a mood to talk about it anymore. "Now about Voldemort..." said Hermione, "You don't really think that what we did ... I mean, it was spectacular, the best so far ... but ..."

Harry sighed when he recalled the memory, "I definitely owe you for last night." He said taking her hand and looking deeply into her eyes, a goofy smile on his lips.

"No ... you don't ... no one owes anyone anything. That's not what love is about." She said with an almost stern look on her face and her other hand pointing to her head, "Remember, I feel everything you feel ... I think I got just as much out of that as you did." She closed the small distance between them and wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning her head on his chest, then crushing herself into his groin. "Hmmmmm", she smiled up at him as he groaned, then backed away from him slightly, saying, "Down boy ... down ... it's time for lunch ... no that's not on the menu right now." Her heart rate was slightly higher, almost matching his, just from feeding off his feelings of arousal.

On their way down for lunch Harry asked, "How are we going to know when Voldemort is back on his feet so we can try to knock him out again?"

"Harry!" she stated in exasperation, "You can't seriously believe that what we did last night caused Voldemort's seizures, besides it's far more likely that the four dead pieces of his soul are responsible. Yesterday we killed piece number four of his soul and he had a more severe attack ... well two attacks, that he may or may not have recovered from by now. The secret to killing him might just be in finding the next two Horcruxes."

"I like the other way better ... we make love until he dies", said Harry.

Hermione shook her head and sighed, "I told the Headmistress you were a gentleman, Harry, don't make a liar out of me, please?"

"You're probably right dear, no more said about that, we concentrate on the next Horcrux."

"How are we going to handle the Death Nibblers that will now be after us?" asked Hermione, "I think the six of us should stick together as much as possible. And we need to talk to someone ... maybe Rowena ... or maybe ... I hope we don't have to rely on Snape to know what's going on with Voldemort."

"Oh Merlin, that reminds me, I never did explain about C'ba ... and you never asked me again." Said Harry.

"Well we did get busy with classes and other things, both Crookshanks and you seemed totally happy with C'ba and I had other things on my mind." She replied.

"It seems that C'ba knows of Nagini and the Boa Constrictor ... you remember the one I told you about where the Dursley's took Dudley and me ... Marwells ... I think was the name of the Zoo." Harry told her, "If I let her out once in a while, she can try to get us information ... It seems that Nagini is none to good at keeping secrets and the snakes have a better web of communications than that internet thing you showed me over the summer."

As they neared the Entrance Hall they could see Parkinson, Goyle, Zabini, Nott and a few other Slytherins, spread out around the hall watching them intensely. Hermione moved away from Harry just enough to allow space to access her wand and staff if necessary.

With a presence of mind one would not normally expect of Ron, he announced himself as he approached them from behind. Ron strode up beside Hermione and whispered, "Luna, Ginny and Neville are watching our backs. We were all together when McGonagall found us. What did you guys do now to piss off V ... Voldemort?"

"Harry here would like to think that it was because we had a particularly enjoyable evening", responded Hermione.

"Enjoyable? ... Is that what you call it? ... Luna has a different word to describe it ... maybe I should tell you later ... in private Harry, I don't think Hermione would appreciate it nearly as much", said Ron. Hermione glared at Ron and he smirked back.

They made their way into lunch without any problems. After they ate, the trio plus Luna returned to the Gryffindor Common Room, Ginny and Neville followed shortly after.

**_Flashback from the past few days:_**

It was becoming quite normal to find Luna and Ron in the Gryffindor or Ravenclaw Common Rooms together. During the first few days of school there were some curious stares and snide comments directed at the unlikely couple, however they were soon accepted and welcomed in either Common Room.

In the Ravenclaw Common Room another peculiar couple were also being accepted. Jeannette could usually be found sitting or studying with, or for some reason nearby the tall and rather muscular Edouard Doucet. Their appearance together had drawn veiled comments from some of those around them, for their height differences were akin to that of a house cat befriending a Saint Bernard (an exaggeration). Edouard, despite his size was never the bullying type that Dudley or Draco was. He was much more athletic; though noticeably overweight from a summer of inactivity, he moved with confidence greater than any of the other boys in Ravenclaw – something that didn't go unnoticed by the upper-year Ravenclaw girls. To make matters better (or worse), Edouard was a musician and poet, as well as much more widely traveled – so he could talk to her about a great many things. His interests wandered all over the map and he was never shy about sharing those interests with her. Perhaps that was why Jeannette liked him so much. He was kind and gentle and, as they got to know one another more and more, they started to become attuned to each other's likes and dislikes. Ed was quite different than any boy Jeannette had ever met ... with the exception of Harry. She rarely thought of Harry anymore, though. Ed had captured her heart and soul in less than a week, though he didn't realize it. Jeannette had now thanked Rose several times for introducing her into that compartment of second years on the Hogwarts Express where she met him.

Edouard had, like Harry in his second year, never really considered dating a girl, still wasn't considering it; he just knew he liked her company. He was long since past the, 'girls are icky' stage, and could easily appreciate her beauty and her figure ... when he could see it. Those school robes hid her gorgeous figure so well. He also liked her mind as much as anything about her. When they were doing homework together, they usually came to identical conclusions, often in two very different ways. That made them look at things from each other's point of view, and it intrigued him. The first chance he had to get a good look at her was on the second day after classes, Jeannette and a few of the girls in her dorm, after dropping off their books and robes, got into their jogging T's and shorts, then jogged out to the lake. The girls, on their way back from the lake, spotted Edouard jogging back from the Quidditch Pitch, broom over his shoulder, and followed Jeannette when she veered towards him. Ed, when he saw her jogging towards him, was so distracted, he nearly stumbled and fell. Ed loved to fly; would have liked to play Quidditch for the Ravenclaw team, but he knew he was too large to be able to play effectively. He was too big to make the quick turns and fast acceleration that was required in that game. Had he been in Slytherin, he could easily have bulldozed the other team out of the air; that was not how he wanted to play the game. Edouard – since he was muggle-born, knew an entirely different art. He was what the muggles called a 'black belt' and moved with the easy confidence of someone who could take care of himself without hesitancy.

_**End Flashback : return to Saturday after lunch**_

They decided it was time to learn from Rowena, just what they could control in the Castle and how to upgrade its wards. The girls with Harry under his invisibility cloak left for the Library first. Ron and Neville followed, close enough behind to keep them in sight most of the time. Both groups of Gryffindors noticed several Slytherins and a few other students that were attempting to be inconspicuous, but were obviously watching them. Harry wondered if Goyle and a few others were again using Polyjuice potion to appear as someone else. Harry reached out with his mind to find that a little girl that looked like a first or second year was actually Harper, a sixth year Slytherin. They obviously must have a stash of Polyjuice somewhere. Malcolm Baddock and Graham Pritchard were the other two of the three little girls, both Slytherins. As far as Harry could tell, the three little girls hadn't felt his mind probe at all. They all seemed to be content with watching for now, perhaps waiting for Crabbe and Malfoy to return. Harry next tried making eye contact with Pansy Parkinson; she was smart enough not to look directly at Hermione, Luna or Ginny so Harry had to move into her line of sight and away from his girls.

Once he was able to move into her line of sight he was easily able to enter her mind. Pansy wasn't trying to hide anything, she probably didn't know how. Harry tried to search around carefully so as not to tip her that he was in there. He found a memory of her and Draco, but didn't stay to watch, he moved on to a newer memory and then several more memories before he finally found the message from her Father. Pansy was to be in charge until Draco returned, they were to watch Potter and his friends, carefully noting where they went and to whom they talked. When Draco returned, he would have more instructions. At the moment he had finished with that memory, Pansy turned her head sharply and Harry lost his view into her mind. Harry had been too determined to see that memory and had pushed for it. Pansy probably realized something was wrong. Harry got what he needed; he knew they were going to be safe until Draco returned, unless something went wrong. He and his five friends along with seven Slytherins in that hallway, in close proximity, if someone even sneezed, a battle could erupt instantly. He quickly caught up with the girls; they soon made it past the Slytherins and were well on their way to the Library

They were a few rooms down the hall from the Library, Harry and the girls waited patiently for Ron and Neville to catch up. The three polyjuiced Slytherins that looked like second year girls were following closely behind them. Harry, who was still under his invisibility cloak, whispered to Hermione that he would meet the five of them at Rowena's portrait. Hermione nodded back almost imperceptively and when Ron and Neville caught up they made their way through the Library, into the Restricted Section and to Rowena's portrait.

Harry allowed the three little girls past before casting separate '_Accio'_ charms to take their wands and '_Incarcerous'_ spells to bind them individually. He then bound them as a group and summoned Fawkes. After a brief exchange with Fawkes, who had no trouble seeing through Harry's invisibility cloak, Fawkes took the little girls to the Headmistress office. Minerva just happened to be having a meeting with her heads of houses, Slughorn, Flitwick and Sprout to discuss the upcoming Halloween Dance when Fawkes arrived with his package. Three wands also appeared on McGonagall's desk though she had not noticed them yet.

After Fawkes in his own way explained the situation to Minerva, she said, "Horace, I believe these are three of your boys on Polyjuice." Slughorn and Flitwick each cast different revealing spells on the children; both spells indicated that the students were somehow magically transformed. Minerva then said to the girls, "Normally I wouldn't do this, but I need to know who you are," Then pointing her wand at the nearest girl she spoke the charm, "_Legilimens_." Not being as careful as Harry was, though not as vicious as Snape would have been, Minerva searched through the mind, confirming the identity of the sixth year as Harper, and the source of the Polyjuice. "Mr. Harper here has confirmed that you are missing some Polyjuice potion from your store cupboard Horace. After this meeting, I would like you to look and determine how much and if anything else is missing."

Minerva untied the girls and sat them in a far corner then cast a '_Mufliato'_ charm on them so that she could talk to her staff and sort this mess out as well as the upcoming dance, Dumbledore's Army and several other details.

Harry caught up to his friends at the portrait; Hermione was already talking to Rowena. The discussion ended when Harry arrived, Rowena preceded them through the portrait and into her Common Room. Once inside they quickly noticed Jeannette and a rather tall and burly young man that Luna had vaguely mentioned. They were finishing lunch and talking animatedly to each other, oblivious of the new arrivals. Hermione spoke first in a raised voice of surprise and curiosity, "Jan!"

The second-years turned and looked, Jeannette responded, "Hey sis ... guys ..." as she waved. Her response confused Edouard who had no idea that Jeannette had any older friends here or a sister, other than seeing her talk to Luna a few times in their Common Room. He had believed Jeannette to be a Muggleborn one of a kind like himself. Jeannette turned and caught the confused look on Ed's face and realized her faux pas. "I'm sorry Edouard, Hermione's not really my sister, she's my cousin actually ... long story ... I'll explain later. I would have told you, but Hermione wanted it kept a secret ... so I wouldn't draw the attention of the people that don't like Harry". Edouard's confused expression cleared and then became a wide smile; he obviously accepted her answer as making sense.

Jeannette looked between Harry and Hermione; their faces seemed to question why she was here. "Once Madam Pince was sure I wasn't trying to sneak out a restricted book and just wanted to visit Rowena ... you know, Ed wouldn't believe me that I had talked to Rowena Ravenclaw ... I wonder why. Anyway she let us in ... you know the books went very quiet when we passed the gates ... I thought they only did that for you?"

You are her descendant too, maybe one day this will all be yours to deal with." Hermione stated, a few blue sparks came off her fingers as she waved her arm around, surprising Ed more than anyone else. "How much do you want him to know?" Hermione knew that Jeannette didn't actually know about the Horcruxes, she knew Harry and Hermione were looking for magical relics to help in the war against Voldemort, but not what or why they were important.

"I trust him Hermione," Stated Jeannette, "Rowena obviously trusted him or he wouldn't be here."

"You love him that much, do you?" Hermione said with a cheeky smile. Jeannette blushed almost as well as Ron had done on occasion. Edouard looked sharply between the pair, trying to figure out what had just happened, he had heard exactly what Hermione had said, and the lovely young lady beside him had not denied it. Hermione then looked at Harry who was looking directly at the large boy in front of him. Harry had sympathy for him figuring out what he had just heard ... he suspected the word 'love' had never crossed the poor boys' mind. Now he was up to his neck in it ... was he going to sink or swim. The next thing Ed knew his hand was inching towards Jeannette's; it seemed to have a mind of its own. The tall, Canadian-born student looked up at her with a pleading, almost begging expression on his face. Jeannette's eyes started to sparkle with the tears that were starting to build up in them. Ed had no idea what he should do now.

Harry again recognized the look in Edouard's eyes, all the 'what if' questions that must be going through his mind right now. Harry's own 'what if' questions had dragged on for years and finally Hermione had to confront him in the park to get him to admit it. "Luna, what's his name?"

"Edouard Gerard Doucet," answered Luna briefly, her eyes fixed on Harry.

"Edouard … Uh … Ed," said Harry and Ed started to look towards Harry, "Tell her you love her too, before she thinks you're some kind of nut case and runs away." Harry knew that Ed heard him, he could sense the gears crashing around in the poor boy's head, trying to make sense of it all. Ed slowly turned his head to face Jeannette, his mouth moved, but no sound came out.


	46. Chapter 46 School Wards

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the books in the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling belong to the aforementioned J. K. Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

Not Another Author's Note: Many thanks to _thescribbler _for his kind assistance with this chapter.

**Chapter 46 – School Wards**

"Sis, you'd better kiss him," said Hermione through the smirk on her face, "And put him out of his misery." Jeannette scowled at Hermione for pushing her into something she didn't think Edouard was ready for. She got up, and, using her wand, she moved Ed's chair away from the table and sat on his lap; she hadn't done that before. She found the height to be near perfect if she stretched up a tiny bit, and taking his face in both her hands, aimed his lips at hers and gave him a passionate kiss that she hoped he wouldn't forget too quickly. He came back to life about a minute later, gasping for breath, his arms wrapping around her, holding her snugly to him, his smile beaming back at hers.

"Close enough", said Jeannette. "At least he's smiling and not scared to death." The six older students laughed at the comment as well as the sight of Ed holding onto Jeannette and smiling at her. Edouard's head leaned over a little as his lips attempted to close in on Jeannette's ... their noses bumped first and Jeannette giggled ... softly ... until Ed's lips captured hers in a gentle kiss.

Soon enough Jeannette got off her new boyfriends' lap and they all got down to business, questioning Rowena and learning how to strengthen and add wards to the Castle. When the others took a break Rowena started showing Harry and Hermione how to control the Castle. They couldn't actually practice any of the spells they were learning here within the portrait. Hermione made detailed notes of all the wards and the Castle control spells, they could be practiced outside or in one of the empty dungeons later.

The eight students spent the afternoon in the unused Dungeon where Slughorn held one of his Parties last year. Hermione initially hadn't recognized the dungeon as the one she had come to with Cormack McLaggen. They first practiced each spell until they got them all right then practiced casting each spell simultaneously to increase the overall power of the ward. Suppertime came and they made their way to the Great Hall. Before the desserts were brought forth the Headmistress made the announcements about the Halloween Costume Ball and Dumbledore's Army that would start up next Friday evening. She also announced that a Christmas dance would be held before the students returned home for the break, details would be posted later.

Her last announcement informed the student body and the balance of the staff that weren't in her office at the time that Misters Harper, Pritchard and Baddock were eating their last meal in this school due to multiple infractions of the schools' rules. She didn't get into the details of which rules they broke to avoid giving others similar ideas. Stealing and use of restricted potions like the Polyjuice potion, and using Polyjuice to change into members of the opposite sex for reasons unknown were at the beginning of the list. Since the boys didn't divulge any further information on their own and the use of Veritaserum was not permitted on them by school policy, only the information that Minerva found when she was using Legilimency to verify that they were in fact not the little girls they appeared to be was known for sure. Slughorn had verified that a large quantity, several litres, of Polyjuice Potion was missing from his secure storeroom as well as potion ingredients and some small quantities of other potions. The Slytherin Dormitories had been searched, but nothing was found. The three young girls had been questioned as well and since they were in the Hospital Wing at the time, there was no proof that they even knew about the incident.

_  
Saturday Sept 6th (evening)_

Hermione didn't really like the idea of having to leave their rooms and go to somewhere desolate to enjoy Harry's attention. On the other hand, they couldn't very well continue on the way they were or they would soon be in trouble. Not for making love specifically, but for disrupting the Castle and other students. There was already some wild speculation going around because of that incident and linking it to the one in the Defence corridor earlier. Fortunately, because of the Pureblood propagated stories, most of the students were trying to pin it on one of several Pureblood couples. The students never gave the half-blood Harry Potter or the Muggleborn Hermione Granger a second thought as being the culprits causing the disturbance. Ron and Luna were very near the top of the list of suspects, both being Purebloods and seldom was one seen without the other any more, except in classes, since they weren't in the same year.

Hermione finally was able to talk Harry into seeing Rowena Ravenclaw again today. Hermione was certain Rowena would know something that would simplify their situation. After making their way to the Library, into the Restricted Section and through the portrait, they finally sat down with Rowena and explained the situation. It took them a while to explain it all to Rowena and she didn't make it easy for them by embarrassing them to no end. Rowena was sure that the embarrassment would serve its purpose in that they would never in their lifetimes ever forget the simple solution to their problem.

Certain of the wards that they had learned today, if applied from inside their rooms would keep spells and accidental magic from breaching their walls. Rowena had either forgotten to mention or they had misunderstood the reason that the Castle's wards were mostly cast from outside the walls of the Castle. If they were cast from the outside, the wards would keep out the spells or penetrations they were supposed to stop. If they were applied to the inside of the walls, they would keep magic trapped inside. All they had to do was to cast the wards from inside Harry's bedroom and their Common Room. If they cast the appropriate wards on all four walls, floor and ceiling as well as the doors and window, the magic would be trapped inside. Rowena also suggested a dampening charm that they should cast on a significant piece of furniture inside the room that would help absorb the magic they released so it wouldn't build up enough to blow the warded walls out. One little piece of information can make all the difference.

Another trick Rowena suggested was to reduce the power of the ward on an outside wall or window, that way if there was a breach in the wards, the magical energy would escape the Castle and, hopefully, the worst they would get would be a light show outside as the magic dissipated.

Later that evening after all the wards were cast, homework done and the cuddling on the sofa in their Common Room ended, Harry entered his bedroom and pulled up the covers to slip in beside her, he could see that she was wearing his old third year Quidditch Jersey that she had found, cast away, in the corner of his closet on Privet Drive. It had no hope of fitting him anymore, but the fabric was soft from being sufficiently worn and washed. It was a fairly loose fit on her; it came down just over her bum. So far she had only worn it when she was feeling off and he knew that couldn't be the case tonight. He could tell that she did have something on her mind, undoubtedly he would find out soon enough.

As he slid in she moved over to make room, leaving him the spot she had just warmed up. It was obvious she wasn't mad at him; she snuggled right into her normal position as he settled in place. The message seemed clear, everything was alright, tonight just wasn't going to be another hot and steamy romp in the sack ... at least that appeared to be Hermione's intention.

"Don't pout Harry, I know you're disappointed, but I am hoping we can prove something." Harry's eyebrows lifted as his expression changed to curious. Hermione continued, "If we refrain from the more energetic bedtime sports and Voldemort recovers ... then maybe it is as you were thinking, killing him with our love. If Voldemort doesn't recover ... or takes a very long time to recover, then it points to the Horcruxes as being the cause ..." she explained. Harry grudgingly agreed, though he would have preferred to prove it the other way, by escalating their pleasure in bed and trying to kill old Mouldyshorts with their love. He would have argued if she had decided to sleep in her own room, though he hoped she wouldn't go that far to prove the point. For better or worse, they had grown quite accustomed to sleeping together.

_  
Sunday Sept 7th AM_

When Hermione awoke the next morning she was feeling very warm and toasty. She quickly realized she wasn't in the same position she went to sleep in last night. Without moving ... though she knew she would have to soon ... she tried to suss out what had changed. Something or hopefully a certain someone was warming her all the way from her neck, down her back, around her bum and down her thighs. She also felt like she was in a cocoon, completely wrapped up like a gift for Christmas. She knew it was Harry behind her; she could feel the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed in and out, the warmth of his exhales on her shoulder and the slight cooling as he inhaled. Hermione moaned softly as a shiver ran down the length of her body. She further tried to suss out how Harry had her wrapped up and how they had managed to change positions so radically during the night.

Harry made a whining noise and tightened his grip on her ever so slightly. That was when it became apparent that she was being held by way too many arms and hands. She knew her breasts were being cradled by his two hands because their fingers were now gently squeezing her very hard nipples. She let out another small moan as he exhaled and another shiver ran down her body. She could sense that Harry was starting to come alive, she could also feel more hands start to move on her tummy, over her navel, and further down, something with fingers found its way under the jersey and into her knickers, making its way through her short hairs. Her eyes bugged out when she realized that something very hot and round was nesting in her bum. She knew Harry was awake now, she also knew he was aware and was intentionally driving her crazy with all his caressing, tweaking hands and the searingly hot sensation of his hard cock behind her. Hermione loved the feelings and sensations he was producing in her, but she wished she could look at Harry's face; she needed to be able to look into his eyes.

Harry was now awake enough to know exactly how she was reacting to his ministrations, he also began to realize that he had more arms and hands than was normal. He had six arms and hands that were gradually working Hermione into a passion. He also knew something was off, he could sense that she wanted something more. His multitude of hands helped her roll over until she was facing him, green eyes to brown. He knew he could never tire of looking into her eyes; there was so much going on in her mind that flitted through her eyes. Harry had yet to decipher it all ... one of the looks he did know said that it was time to get up. He held her for a moment more as their lips met and greeted in the morning sun that was streaming through the window. All of Harry's arms released their hug, caressing her perfect body as the extra arms slowly retracted into him and disappeared, as though they were never there. Hermione gave him a quick squeeze of appreciation before slipping out of the warm bed to prepare herself for the new day.

Harry followed her after about five minutes and they both ended up in the shower together. This time he actually did wash her back and she washed his without their hands going too far astray and off-target.

_  
Monday Sept 8th Afternoon_

Vincent Crabbe returned to the school, quietly, and with as little fanfare as possible. He didn't want the circumstances of his leaving known, nor did he want there to be any possibility of attracting negative attention from Harry. The only thing that had changed was that he was now required to turn over his wand to Professor Slughorn at the end of classes each day just as Malfoy would continue to do when he returns a week tomorrow. Harry would have preferred that Crabbe become a Purina™ Dragon-snack or the prime ingredient in the fertilizer for the School's flower-beds, but realized that no one could expect to always receive their hearts' desire in life. It was good enough, he supposed, that Crabbe was effectively wandless outside of class. One less enemy's wand to have to face was a start.

_Monday Sept 15th after curfew_

Hermione and Harry, as they sometimes did, had swapped their night of patrols with another pair of prefects to get Friday evening off. They had permission from the Headmistress to leave the Castle for the weekend starting Friday afternoon, after classes. At almost ten o'clock, as they were passing the Library they heard a voice. "Psssssstt, Potter ... Granger," Draco whispered from behind the almost closed door of a broom closet on the third floor. They had been told that Draco had returned late Sunday evening, he had gone to classes all day today and now he was apparently out after curfew. Did he not learn anything?

Hermione didn't even turn around until later, her wand was already out behind her back and her '_Accio'_ charm nearly yanked the door off its hinges, surprising Draco. Harry quickly spun around and had Draco bound with burning ropes so fast that if a person had blinked, he or she would have missed it. He did however include a flame freezing charm in the binding spell this time. It wasn't like they even needed to use their wands; they were however getting more used to pulling their wands again in the two weeks since school started. Harry had seen Draco on his map while they were still on the second floor and kept an eye on the map until they had the closet door in sight.

"Give me one good reason Malfoy, why I shouldn't end your miserable life here and now?" asked Harry in a very sarcastic tone, his wand pointed straight at Malfoy's heart.

"What's with you and the burning ropes?" asked Draco in response "Is that the new spell Granger taught you over the summer?"

"Malfoy ... why are you out here at this time of night, without a wand and trying to get us to notice you?" asked Hermione.

"I need to talk to Potter, little Miss Nosey. So leave us alone." Hermione looked at Harry for a moment; then shook her head.

"Never going to happen Malfoy," said Hermione, "Not while Voldemort wants to kill Harry." Draco cringed at the sound of Dark Lord's name; then Hermione continued, "We'll take you to the Headmistress and she can figure out what to do with you."

"What, you two idiots need help killing me?" Snarked Draco. Harry had enough and with a tweak of his wand Malfoy was dangling in the air by his right heel. "Okay, okay ... I don't want McGonagall involved ... give me a chance to explain. I would appreciate if you put me down carefully and remove these damn ropes ... I have no wand so what can I do to you?"

"What indeed!" Said Hermione as Harry lowered him onto his hands and then let the rest of Malfoy down in an, if not careful, at least civilized manner. Draco was quickly back on his feet making a show of dusting himself off and preening his clothes.

"Get on with it Malfoy ... what is it you want to tell us?" demanded Harry.

"Alright, alright ... this is not easy for me; I'm not exactly used to being in this position." Said Draco, "These last eleven days in Azkaban ... were not particularly pleasant ..."

"Not the luxury resort that your Father made it out to be, eh!" interrupted Hermione in a very sarcastic tone of voice.

"Shut it Mud ..." Fortunately Draco caught himself before he finished that word, but Hermione now had him hanging by his left heel anyway.

"Alright, alright ... I apologize ... now would you please let me down ... I have some information for you and maybe I can be of some help."

Furious, Hermione let him down and then tore into him with a five minute tirade about not putting up with his egotistical, pureblood prejudices and attitudes, all the while holding her glowing and sparking wand in his face. The light and sparks from her wand dimmed down as her monologue came to an end and her raging temper eased.

"M ... M ... Merlin P ... P ... Potter, how do you put up with her?" Draco was still standing, but shaking nervously.

Harry had to smile; he was laughing inside, but knew better than to do it openly at this time. "One simple rule Malfoy, don't make her mad, the consequences could be deadly. She isn't called the smartest Witch of her age without a valid reason."

"Okay ... calm down and let me speak ..." Draco waited a few quick seconds before continuing. "A select group of Slytherins have been keeping tabs on you and your little group of friends, and reporting back to the Dark Lord. They know that Weasley and Lovegood are an item; also they know the other Weasley and that wimp Longbottom are together. They aren't too big a deal to the Dark Lord, but ... they are almost certain that you two are also a big item." Draco let it hang there, awaiting a response.

"Why, because we have been doing patrols together and go to most of the same classes," queried Harry, "We've been best friends for six years now, there's no big deal." Hermione didn't even bat an eyelash at Harry's pronouncement.

"You want to believe that, you go ahead, what I see says different" responded Draco. "The orders I came back with are to try to capture you two ... and if we can kill you without getting caught, we are to go ahead. Otherwise we turn you over to Snape and he takes you to the Dark Lord."

"I had most of that information a week ago. How do you meet up with Snape?" asked Harry.

"Enough for now, how did you learn about this a week ago?", Draco said.

"We overheard some Slytherins talking," said Hermione. It wasn't the truth. Harry had found out by using legilimency on Pansy Parkinson, but there was no advantage to telling Draco about that. "Why is it that you're talking to us now and what do you want ... other than to stay out of Azkaban."

"My Mother is not a believer in the Dark Lord, mostly she has little say in what my Father does and she doesn't oppose him too often" stated Draco. "If I switch sides, my Father will believe it is my Mother's doing, and most likely kill her ... and then me."

"Switch sides!" exclaimed Hermione. "What makes you think we would consider taking you? You're too ... problematic ... it's too big a chance ... too big a risk."

"Hold on Hermione, there may be some that will consider this an opportunity, remember what Dumbledore asked in his letter?" said Harry.

"I know exactly what he wanted ... if I remember correctly, you were the one that totally disagreed with the idea at the time", stated Hermione.

"I'm still not ecstatic about it ... the only Malfoy I would totally trust is a dead Malfoy ... and even then ..." Harry left that thought to hang in mid air.

"Give us a few days to talk and sort out your offer. On Thursday be in an empty classroom at eight o'clock in the evening. If we don't meet you within twenty minutes it is because we can't safely do so. We'll try again on Monday."

"First of all my Mother needs to be protected, and next, to survive and be of any use to you while in Slytherin I still have to appear to be my same old self", stated Draco. "I'll do my best to give you warning when you are in danger, I just haven't figured out how to do it without getting caught."

"We'll sort something out if we decide to accommodate you", said Hermione. "There will be a lot of details to take care of – that's a small one. For now you had better get back to your Common Room ... without getting caught."

As Draco wandered away, Hermione and Harry looked at each other for several minutes; mulling over the conversation with Draco. Then they moved off to find the Headmistress, Harry pulled out his Marauder's Map and confirmed that Malfoy would soon be safely in his Common Room and there were no other students loose in the Castle. Professors Weasley and Slughorn had been patrolling on the fourth floor and were now coming down a staircase towards them on the third floor. The two groups met, greeted and passed each other with the Heads making their way to Minerva's office.

Draco wished he could at least disillusion himself wandlessly. Over the last few weeks he had tried numerous spells without his wand. Outside of classes he had little choice and other than written homework, little else to do, so attempting wandless magic became his distraction of choice. Draco had tried borrowing wands from most of the other Slytherins, attempting to find out what types of wands would work for him. Most wouldn't work for him at all, a few he could force to work with great effort, only one came close to being useful, that was Pansy's. Pansy had taken that as further proof that they were destined to be together; to be married. If he was ever to break free and get away from the Dark Lord, Pansy would definitely not be in his future. She had been brought up with the dark arts as much as he was, it was ingrained in their blood from childhood, probably a good part of the reason that their parents had arranged for them to be married right after Hogwarts. That and the Parkinson's had almost as much gold as the Malfoy's, which would make Draco and Pansy very rich snobs – if, he admitted to himself, they lived long enough. All these thoughts were going through his mind as he made his way back to the Slytherin Common Room ... that and he knew that he would find Pansy waiting in his bed for him. He had to keep reminding himself that at least she was useful for something, and after what amounted, for him, to begging with Scarhead and his mudblood bitch he could use some relief.

Finally, after arriving safely in his Common Room, Draco could see that there were only two other seventh-years up. Blaise Zabini and Daphne Greengrass were playing a card game of some sort. They acknowledged each other as Draco passed by and proceeded to his private room. The Slytherins didn't have dormitories like the other houses; they weren't nearly as sociable as a group. Each student could have a separate room if they wanted it, or share. Pansy had her own room, but since third year she normally slept with Draco, unless they were having a fight. Once in his room he started stripping his clothes off while Pansy began warming herself up for him, she knew he wouldn't, not in his obvious state of mind. She glanced over to see him watching her, she stifled a snicker, she had experienced more impressive hardware than his, and he knew it. It was going to be a short, albeit relatively painless night for her. As they settled into their customary 'routine', Pansy wondered idly if Harry Potter was even half the man that she thought he probably was. Then she thought about whether knowing for sure would make her happier or not. Being outdone by a mudblood was definitely not in her top ten things to have happen each day and already, Hermione beat her in all academic areas – so having her snag a better lover, too, would just be one thing too many.


	47. Chapter 47 Secret Arrangements

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the books in the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling belong to the aforementioned J. K. Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

Author's Note: Many thanks to _thescribbler_ for his kind assistance with this chapter.

**Chapter 47 – "Secret Arrangements"**

Having informed McGonagall of their discussion with Malfoy and after finishing their patrol, Harry and Hermione returned to their Common room. While Hermione was busy Harry tied a note to Hedwig's leg and sent him off before he prepared himself for bed. C'ba had coiled up by the fireplace in Harry's bedroom and Crookshanks, who had recently started sleeping on Hermione's pillow during the day, was following him around, weaving between his feet and threatening to become a tripping hazard. Harry finally picked up the orange fur ball and placed him in the depression in Hermione's pillow that he had obviously made that day; then told him to warm it up for his mistress. Crookshanks curled up on the pillow and purred while Harry continued readying himself for bed.

Harry knew he wasn't going to get a hand-job or better tonight because Hermione was still trying to prove her point about what might affect Voldemort. He was replaying her latest trick in his mind when he heard her voice from the loo. He was instantly rock hard and standing at attention.

"Harry, what are you doing?"

"Thinking about you, love", he said. She returned to his room a few heart beats later wearing only her pretty, white and pink-cotton knickers and an old, thin lacy bra, that barely held its charges in place. Her gaze instantly locked on the bulge in the front of his boxers.

"Harry," she said sounding exasperated, "I know it doesn't take much to get you started, but..." She reached up with one hand going around the back of his neck to pull his head down. "You could at least wait until I'm in the room." She said as she stretched up and their lips joined. Harry sucked in a breath and nearly emptied Hermione's lungs when he felt her other hand firmly grasp his boxer-clad organ. He whimpered into her mouth while his arms wrapped around her, picking her up and crushing her body into him. Harry's whole body shook in the anticipation he knew would not be fulfilled tonight.

When their lips parted he could look into the tempest that was her eyes, "you are ... so beautiful ..." he whispered as she tried to get some air.

She had given up telling him that she wasn't beautiful and that he must be blind; he refused to believe her; she replied simply, "I love you too." Then she slipped his old Quidditch jersey over her head.

Harry understood what she was doing, and why, but it still hurt him to see her cover up so much. The smell of her skin; its softness; and the warmth of her body against him as they slept together meant a great deal to him, and so it was hard to have that withdrawn – if only temporarily. As she climbed into bed, he thought about how much had changed…and how much he wanted to have Tom Riddle out of his life forever, so that he'd always be able to sleep next to a naked Hermione Potter.

As her hair settled around her head on the pillow, much like a halo, he knew for a certainty – in a way that was indescribable yet absolute - that he'd do anything he had to in order to make sure that Hermione would always be in his life.

**Tuesday, Sept. 16th – Granger household – early Am.**

Emma was in the kitchen pouring cereal into two bowls when she heard a tapping sound on the window over the sink. Looking up she saw a very familiar snowy white owl perched on the narrow sill outside. Emma slowly opened the window so as not to startle Hedwig. When it was open enough, Hedwig hopped inside stopping on the counter's edge and holding out her left leg. Emma bent down and carefully untied the note then stroked Hedwig's feathers a few times wondering where Harry might have left some owl treats. She was about to open the note when Dan came in. Seeing Hedwig he figured there must be a reason and Emma passed him the note since it was addressed to 'The Grangers' in Harry's scrawl.

The note, when opened spilled out some Pound notes and explained that Harry wanted to surprise Hermione by taking her to Godric's Hollow for her birthday supper and the rest of the weekend, he expected they would leave shortly after classes and should arrive around four in the afternoon. They didn't have to return to school until Monday morning. It went on to say that Hermione often bemoaned the fact that she couldn't be with her parents on her birthday and so the Grangers were requested to come for the entire weekend as well, or whatever portion they could manage. He would send Fawkes to pick them up at a time and place of their choosing. Hedwig would wait as long as it took for them to send a reply. He further asked that they use the money to purchase a particular set of earrings that Harry had spotted Hermione looking at in the jeweller's shop up the street, unless of course they found something that they thought Hermione would like better. Harry had described the earrings, noted the price he saw on them and had even drawn a decent sketch.

Dan took Hedwig up to Harry's bedroom. The perch and food and water dishes were there, Harry had charmed them to be 'ever full and fresh'. The food pellets weren't as tasty as fresh mouse meat, but for a tired, hungry bird, they would fill the bill (or the beak). Hedwig slept all day while the Grangers were in their Surgery. By the end of the day their patient schedule had been rearranged to allow the office to close on Friday at three and reopen the following Monday at 9 Am. They had stopped in at the jewellers on their way home and Emma had agreed with Harry's choice of the earrings and added a matching sapphire pendant to make a set.

Dan added the words 'Friday, 4:15PM, home' to Harry's note and Emma tied it to Hedwig's leg. The refreshed and refuelled owl took off immediately for Hogwarts.

**Wednesday, Sept. 17th – Early Am.**

Harry had just returned from another cold shower – a practice he was getting used to whether he liked it or not - while she was trying to prove her point about the connection between their love-making and Voldemort's collapses. Hedwig had just flown in through the window and landed on her perch. Harry quickly removed the note, read it, then banished it and thanked Hedwig for her efforts with fresh owl treats, water and food.

Harry quickly checked the loo and found that Hermione was having a hot shower. He shook his head and closed the door. He figured he had at least ten minutes and called for Dobby. After explaining to Dobby about Godric's Hollow and Camelot Harry found out that Dobby knew Guinevere. She had come to Hogwarts a couple of times in the last few weeks to check up on Lord and Lady Gryffindor. When she met Dobby there was a little jealousy on her part that Dobby considered himself to be the Potter's House Elf and friend.

Harry explained to Dobby what he wanted for Friday and the weekend and that he should try to work with Guinevere to make sure that she feels like she too belongs in the family. Family ... a word or a destiny he often thought of, but seldom spoke about. It warmed him to think that he was part of the Granger family and he could barely contain himself until he could have a family with Hermione.

"What are you thinking about now?" was the cry from the loo. She had again picked up on his feelings and, not wanting to invade his mind, she vocalized her thoughts. Harry quickly sent Dobby off after telling him that the Grangers would be there too; then entered the loo to answer her.

Harry closed his eyes as she stepped out of the shower in all her glistening glory lest he should need another cold shower himself. "I was thinking about us in a few years' time." He answered. She smiled back at him having a vague idea that he was probably thinking about the family she was sure they would soon start.

**Thursday, Sept 18th, 8 Pm. - Head's Common Room**

Harry and Hermione had just opened up the Marauder's Map to look for Draco. He was shown to be in an empty classroom on the second floor. They also noticed that Crabbe and Goyle were on their floor, close enough to the Gryffindor and Heads' Common Room entrances to be able to see who was coming and going. Normally, this time of day Harry and Hermione would be in the Gryffindor Common Room with their friends or in the Library unless they were going on patrol. Crabbe and Goyle would be like shadows to Draco unless Draco was with Pansy or another girl. Draco was such a sleaze, Pansy had to know, she couldn't possibly be that stupid, or maybe she didn't care. Harry had never kept an eye on Pansy to know if she too was 'getting around'.

Hermione offered to transform into Caledfwlch and flash them into the hallway on the second floor. The pair had talked again with Minerva as well as Alastor and Remus about Draco's offer, well more of a request for protection for him and his Mother. They had all thought it odd that Draco didn't include Miss Parkinson in the request and that would be something they would have to inquire about. An integrity test was something they also talked about, they couldn't be sure if Draco was trying to trick them in some way, it would be a typical Slytherin thing to do. Draco was too good at Occlumency, having been taught by his Aunt Bella, for them to be sure that what they might be able to find in his mind would be the truth and the use of Veritaserum on students was not normally approved. There was another test they thought of, the concern was that the results were absolute. Harry and Hermione talked to Rowena about bringing Draco through her portrait and if he failed that test he would disappear forever. There would be no body and no trace of him at all. It would be as if he had gone through the veil like Sirius did.

Caledfwlch landed on Harry's shoulder and they both left in a bright flash of white light, reappearing in the empty second floor hallway moments later. Hermione hopped off of Harry's shoulder and transformed back into her brilliant bushy-haired self before they made their way towards the classroom door. Hermione waved her hand at the door and it opened as they approached. Draco looked up startled, he had only just entered the classroom a minute before them and expected them to take a while searching through the dozen or more unused and unlocked classrooms on various floors. He didn't ask, he suspected they had somehow alarmed the doors or rooms to indicate to them which one was occupied.

"Pansy is suspicious of me already, I must have let something slip or maybe someone saw me meeting you two a few days ago", stated Draco. "You've got to help me! She's had Crabbe and Goyle keeping an eye on me, Zabini has been watching too, and reporting to her. She told them it was for my safety. Those two are not much use for anything else, but they can watch and report back, they're good at that."

"Do you think you would be alright to return to Slytherin until Monday at this time?" Asked Harry in a hope to simplify tonight and through the weekend, besides they needed time to contact Narcissa Malfoy and make arrangements for her. "We would like to hide you and your Mother at the same time ... and good arrangements take time."

"Yes," Draco said simply, "If I can avoid Pansy as much as possible. You realize I'll have to try to act my normal self to avoid further suspicion."

"Good", Hermione said. "We can take you somewhere where you'll be absolutely safe, but ... there is one consideration."

"What, anything ..." Draco said, somewhat anxiously.

"The entryway is charmed ... or maybe hexed ... depending on your point of view," Hermione started to say.

"Yes, yes, get on with it."

"If your loyalties remain with Voldemort," Draco cringed at the name as Hermione spoke, "Or you intend to harm anyone in the Order, the entryway will kill you, it won't let spies or traitors through. You may continue your seventh year studies with the best of teachers. Your Mother, if she passes the same test, will join you." Hermione pulled out her wand and pointed it at the outside wall, using a spell of Rowena's the windows were replaced by continuous stone. "If you believe that you and your Mother can pass the integrity test you will need to return to this room on Monday at eight so that we can make the final arrangements, otherwise ..." Hermione pointed her wand at the classroom door and continued, "There's the door." Hermione and Harry both noticed Draco's Adams apple bob as he gulped in the realization that it was now or never.

_Did he trust these two enough to risk his life, he didn't want anything to do with the Dark Lord which included his Father as well, since Lucius was too far into the Dark Lord to ever get out alive even if he wanted to. The entryway Granger spoke about sounded ominous, did it take into account past intentions or just his current intentions. He had talked to his Mother after he had been released from that horrible prison and she was trying to hide away as much of the family fortune as she could get her hands on. Lucius unfortunately had most of it tied up in such a way that only he could gain access to it so long as he was alive._

While Draco was thinking, Hermione turned around to face the classroom door and flicked her hand in its direction using another of Rowena's spells. The first time she had used wandless magic, it had really caught Harry's attention – but she, too, had been growing in magical power for some time, and so he was getting used to seeing her do things without her wand.

Harry spoke up, "If you leave this room you cannot return. The door will now let you out, but not back in. If you leave we will not help you any further. If you remain here ... we will return in half an hour to take you back safely to a place near the Slytherin Common Room."

Having made up his mind days ago even though it seemed a degrading thing to trust Potter and this girl, Draco spoke up. "On Monday I will need some things from my room ... clothes, books and other things. Pansy will panic when my stuff disappears, the Dark Lord and my Father will know about it within seconds."

Harry thought that was not a big deal, as house-elves could come and go both silently and invisibly. Most of the Slytherin students would never realize that a house-elf had been among them and if someone went looking for Draco's stuff, there were some illusions that could be triggered by a charmed device that would fool them long enough for them to get away with getting Draco out and safe.

"Will Pansy sound the alarm if you simply don't show up tonight or Monday night?" asked Harry.

"Probably not ... she'll think I'm sleeping with Greengrass and she will go to find a warm bed in Zabini's room. Some arranged marriage this is going to be ... we're already cheating on each other and we both know it."

"After Monday you're going to be cut off from all the students, save the odd visit from us, you'll be as celibate as a Monk unless Parkinson or Greengrass follows you or Voldemort is gone and his mess is cleaned up. Neither Parkinson nor Greengrass can come with you unless they passes the same test."

"Pansy couldn't pass the test, she believes blindly in the Dark Lord." _Harry thought to himself that it was too bad that Pansy was a lost cause. She was certainly bright enough that she could have been put on a different and better path early on and saved, if someone had cared enough to do so. Draco was still speaking, even as Harry's mind wandered_. "Daphne already knows I'm going into hiding, I told her I'd send for her if I could. She doesn't want anything to do with the Dark Lord, neither do her parents. If she was allowed to tell her parents that she was going into hiding for her safety, she thinks they would agree to it. If they don't come over to the Dark Lord soon, they'll be killed anyway. If they know their daughter is safe, they might flee the country and go into hiding. They wouldn't be much use in a fight, they're barely better than squibs. Daphne was adopted you know. She's actually a pure-blood. Her real parents were killed in the first war."

Harry looked at him and realized, perhaps really for the first time, the true cost of Tom's unrestrained hatred and ambition. "Okay, talk to her, let her know that we'll make arrangements to return her home for some reason, perhaps a death in the family, that ought to be good for two or three days away from school. About two weeks from now should be good, she can talk to her parents then and we can arrange for her to disappear with you and get her parents out of the country. Yes … two weeks should be good, the dust will have settled from the disappearances of you and your Mother."

"We'll be back in half an hour," said Hermione as she and Harry left the classroom to find Minerva and inform her of their discussion with Malfoy.

**Friday, Sept 19th AM**

Harry woke up first, the love of his life snuggled into his left side; still asleep with a smile on her lips. He wanted to sigh, but knew it would wake her up, so he didn't. As they did on his birthday in July, they had remained awake until midnight so he could wish her a happy birthday and didn't get to sleep until about two in the morning. Harry had replaced the image of the horntail on his chest with a birthday cake for Hermione and conjured nineteen little candles for her to blow out. While she was blowing out all the candles, he kept re-lighting them. After she had succeeded, he then banished the remains of the candles and told her they were leaving at four that afternoon to go to Godric's Hollow, for the weekend, they wouldn't have to return until Monday morning. When he mentioned that her parents were also going to be there, she was so incredibly happy with him that she pounced on him; snogging him senseless. Hermione had gotten them so wound up that it was a near thing that they didn't actually do the deed then and there. She had been so pleased with him for making all the arrangements and being able to keep it a surprise that her magic and his, got loose and was bouncing around the room. Most of the vagrant magic was absorbed by the old chair that they had charmed for the purpose, thus they didn't decimate the rest of Gryffindor Tower ... this time.

In the morning, when they finally got around to paying attention to something other than themselves and looked around Harry's bedroom, the poor chair that absorbed most of the loose magic was still smoking and emitting the odd spark. Hedwig had hooted and left when Hermione was trying to blow out her candles last night and still had not returned, C'ba was now curled up on the warm chair and Crookshanks had retreated to the furthest corned under the bed, not sure if he should ever come out. What they didn't know and weren't even concerned about this morning was the condition of Voldemort. They would never stumble across enough information to link last night's activities to that fact that he was again incapacitated.

They got up, she finally got dressed, her mind totally on Harry and tonight. They made their way to breakfast, Hermione was so happy she was hanging on to Harry while bouncing and skipping along the hallways. She had calmed down a little by the time they arrived at the Great Hall and they both managed to walk in and find their seats with some semblance of normality. Hermione wore a smile as wide as her face and Harry hoped and prayed to any deity he could think of that she would be able to keep that smile on all day even if it caused her parents some concern. His troubles resumed when he realized that all she was doing was hanging on to his arm and looking up at him ... and smiling ... and smiling. What had happened to his sensible, organized Hermione that he knew ... she was acting like the gaggle of girls that followed Krum around a few years ago. Harry redirected his forkful of egg to her mouth, her lips parted as the egg got nearer and her mouth did open, allowing the food to enter. He noticed her absently chewing on the food as his next forkful of egg and toast went to his own mouth. Harry continued by putting the following forkful in her mouth again and then alternated one for him ... and one for her ... until his plate was empty. She was still hanging on and looking up at him with that goofy huge smile on her face.

Ron and Luna weren't at their table this morning and he hadn't spotted them at the Ravenclaw table either. Harry suspected they might be having breakfast of one sort or another at the Three Broomsticks in the Room of Requirement. Dean Thomas and Lavender Brown had become part of Ron and Luna's breakfast club since he and Lavender were now obviously a couple. Neville and Seamus were with their girls ... more or less ... since Ginny and Parvati had huddled together and were whispering, snorting and giggling throughout this whole episode. They knew of course that today was Hermione's birthday and that the pair slept in the same bed every night. The two girls were speculating on whether the pair had actually consummated their relationship, and just how well endowed Harry was. They had overheard rumours from the boys, and, even though the girls knew that the boys exaggerated quite a bit, there was reason to be a little jealous of Hermione. Ginny was the closest of the three to having firsthand knowledge, though she had never seen or held Harry's bits, she had felt it press against her a number of times during those few weeks that they were together last term. Ginny was shorter and smaller than Hermione and her concern at that time was that it might be too big. She had made a point of trying to gage the size of Harry's hardware. Ginny knew that Neville's piece was not as big as Harry's judging by the feel of the bulge in his pants, and although pleasure mattered more than size to her, she felt that Neville was still stretching her to her limit.


	48. Chapter 48 Happy Birthday Hermione

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the books in the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling belong to the aforementioned J. K. Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

Not Another Author's Note: Many thanks to thescribbler for his kind assistance with this chapter.

Due to a posting error a couple of weeks ago this chapter probably won't show up in the 'New/Updated' listing.

Chapter 48 – "Happy Birthday, Hermione"

On their way to Transfiguration, Hermione _almost_ mindlessly followed Harry into a broom closet; where Harry instigated a snogging session that left them both senseless.

As Hermione zipped up her skirt; straightened her blouse, and made sure she was 'tucked in' all the way around, Harry met her gaze and she felt his love – though the touch of his magic – sweep around and through her.

"What is it, Harry?"

Moving closer again, Harry cupped her face with his hands. "I love you, Hermione, but I feel like I just took advantage of you…"

Her eyes blazed and her voice sharpened a bit. "_Don't even start that, Harry.__ I love you more than I can describe and you've got to know that I came in here with just as much desire as you had. I wanted this and you're not to feel guilty about it, ok?"_

As if to reinforce the point, she launched herself at him; grabbing him by the front of his shirt and mashing her lips hard against his. It was not very long before she was grinding her sex against him and practically begging him to go farther with her. For several long minutes, their bodies intertwined, with no way to separate one from the other.

How much time had passed before they broke apart was uncertain, but eventually, they were both sufficiently recovered to move without looking like they had just been shagging.  As she rearranged her clothes for the second time, she realized that she was much closer to being back to her normal self, at least to the point that she was even concerned about her lack of books.  Harry had his books and they could share so he convinced her that it didn't really matter.  They arrived at class and took their usual seats just in time for McGonagall to begin the lesson.

After Transfiguration they had free time until lunch, McGonagall had delayed their departure from her classroom to mention to them both that there used to be a nice little village within easy walking distance of their house in Godric's Hollow.  In Godric's time it used to be all magical and as large as Hogsmeade is today.  The last she heard from James was that it was a mixture of magical, squibs and Muggles, mostly older, retired folks.  Hermione had come down to earth during the morning class however, she was still happier than Harry thought was normal, even for her birthday.  On their way back to their rooms to pack for the weekend, Hermione was thinking about what happened in the small hours of the morning and what was soon to be:

**Flashback to just past midnight**

Hermione was so ecstatic when Harry had told her about his plans for her birthday supper and the weekend in Godric's Hollow with him and her parents that she was becoming disgusted with herself for being so out of character.  She had never had a boyfriend that did anything like this for her before. In reality, she never really had a boyfriend before.  Sure, it was true that Harry and Ron had given her small gifts and hugs and a kiss on her last three or four birthdays and Christmas's, but not as _boyfriends_.  For the last six years she had missed having her parents around and she really wanted to return to Godric's Hollow.  It was such a lovely house and Harry had seemed to be okay with it once he had gone through it the first ... and only time they had spent a few hours there.  Guinevere had guided them around and Harry had been reacquainted with his parents.  She had spoken to and then fallen in love with his parents too, well at least the way they were in their portrait.  Lilly was a wonderful caring soul and his father James...was like a combination of Harry and what she imagined Sirius to have been like in his school days.  Being the spitting image of Harry, she couldn't help but to love James at first sight, not that she would have traded one for the other in a million years.  Harry was hers and _Merlin! _How she loved him ... God help anyone that tried to get between them.

The extent and power of their relationship; as well as the level of love and respect that Harry had for Hermione showed itself when Harry, laying on his side, felt Hermione pushing her bottom against him; engulf the tip of his erection and start to slide home. She was hot, wet, tight….everything he had ever wanted to experience…but he managed to pull her off and finally had to morph _Prongs junior_ down to the size of a thimble to thwart her nocturnal intentions.  Harry wanted more than anything to make proper love to Hermione, but he had made a promise to her and her parents and this didn't feel to him like right time.  Prongs junior however, complained all night ... having had the smallest taste of glory; wanted more.

Hermione was relieved now, knowing that Harry had had the more sensible mind in the wee hours of this morning ... he had only just kept her from impaling '_Miss Jane' _ on '_Prongs junior'_, and, at the time Hermione had been quite determined to prove to Harry just how much she wanted him.

End flashback

Harry had suggested to Hermione that she need only lay out the clothes and other items she wanted to take, on her bed, as he was going to do and he would ask Dobby to bring them.  This was the first she knew that Dobby had anything to do with the weekend and questioned Harry about it.  He explained to her that Dobby and Guinevere were going to help with the arrangements of opening the house and making supper for tonight.  He would ask Fawkes to bring her parents at the agreed time.

They arrived at lunch a few minutes early and took their usual seats.  Their friends soon filled in the seats around them and lunch progressed fairly normally until he quietly announced that he and Hermione would be going away for the weekend.  There were a few winks and thumbs up from the guys until he added that her parents would be with them and everyone settled down.  As they departed for afternoon classes Hermione was wished a Happy Birthday and a fun weekend by all their friends.

The Practical Defence class was exhausting. It left all the students hot, tired, sweaty, and hating every moment between classes' end and the actual end of the day.  They were now starting out with exercises to build stamina and flexibility, followed with practice dodging spells and now the second half of the double class was taken up with shielding themselves from spells.  By the end of the day even their wands were warm from all the magic.  Moody was certainly going to make them work for their grades this year, but if it kept more of them alive, then in the end, it was worth every drop of golden sweat.

On their way back to the Head's Suite, Harry was musing to himself:  He had left Dumbledore's Army in the hands of the other four this weekend – Ron, Neville, Ginny, and Luna. It wasn't a matter of whether they were up for it. Harry was fairly certain that they could handle it easily.  Neville had turned out to have a slight edge over Ron when they demonstrated spells. There was always more focused power in Nevilles' spells and he had more determination to make new spells work the way Harry or the professors demonstrated them. Luna, though appearing saner than she had in earlier years, usually came in last in the group of six as far as practical abilities were concerned. However, she excelled in the unexpected and had a wicked way of putting spells together that created wholly new results.  Ginny was the anomaly. She was stronger and much more cunning than either her brother or Neville in Harry's opinion even though Neville always seemed to get the better of her.  Harry had mentioned it to Hermione once and she just smiled at him.  He started to wonder if Hermione was also holding back and letting him trump her most of the time.  Harry knew from Care of magical Creatures that the female of most species were usually the most dangerous when their young or mates were at risk.  He was already sure that he would not want to be on the receiving end of Hermiones' furry and the way Ginny fairly bled excess power made him extremely leery of ever annoying her.

By the time they got back to their rooms they both realized they were running late, it was already four o'clock and they both needed a shower and a change of clothes.  Hermione quickly stripped down and headed for the shower with a pair of glossed over green eyes absorbed in the movement of her bum as she walked.  When Harry recovered his sanity he realized he was going to have to beat Prongs junior down with a stick or put a blindfold on him.  The time was quickly approaching quarter after four when Harry called Fawkes.  After conversing with the red and gold bird, Fawkes left for the Granger's home in Oxford.  Harry then stripped down leaving a trail of sweaty clothes between his bedroom and the shower.

Hermione snickered to herself when Prongs junior entered the shower with Harry following.  "Is your little friend giving you a hard time?" She asked with a giggle.  Harry knew he shouldn't be embarrassed, like his unruly hair, Harry really couldn't do anything about it. Seeing Hermione naked; smelling her hair, and feeling the caress of her silky skin was always more than enough to excite every bit of him.  "May I?, she asked quietly, looking lovingly into his eyes. Before he realized it, she had his 'problem' in her soft, gentle hands ... and they were soon rinsing off together, a smile on both of their faces.

Dan and Emma had been delayed in Friday afternoon traffic and were only just arriving in their drive when Fawkes flashed into their home.  Fawkes knew exactly where they were, and had they been further away from home, he may have attempted to expedite their progress, however patience was something he had learned in the last thousand and some odd years.

As it turned out Dan and Emma arrived in Godric's Hollow first, Fawkes had deposited them in the Library, trilled a short greeting ... or something, and flashed away.  While Dan and Emma were gaping around at the collection of books and antiques, two elvish creatures appeared with a loud snap!  Dobby they almost recognized, Guinevere had forced on him a uniform similar to her own with a Gryffindor coat of arms on the left breast and a Potter coat of arms on the right.  Both House Elves were very smartly appointed.  Dobby knew the Grangers from the day they spent in Hogwarts and made the introductions between them and Guinevere, then moved off to the side.

Fawkes had returned to Hogwarts, to Harry's room, a minute before the pair would have left.  Hermione was about to transform into Caledfwlch when Fawkes trilled for her to wait.  Hermione was shocked when she realized that she could understand Fawkes' song.  Hermione seemed to concentrate for a moment, then trilled back at Fawkes telling him that she would be very proud if he would take them home to Godric's Hollow.  Harry looked at them both in confusion.

"Come on love, Fawkes is going to take us home; he's only just delivered my parents there." Hermione said as she moved into his side.  Harry checked the time, it was well after half of four and apparently they weren't going to be terribly late after all.  In a flash of red fire the teens found themselves in the same Library, a few steps away from Dan and Emma.  Dan had barely had a chance to blink when he found himself being hugged by his daughter.  Emma joined in and made it a threesome while beckoning Harry to come in also.

Harry begged off saying that he had his hug a few minutes ago and would like to check on the arrangements.  He told them that they should make themselves at home and should feel free to wander and explore anywhere they liked.

The three Grangers sat in the Library for at least an hour catching up on the last few weeks; Harry had come back after about ten minutes and looked in on them.  They were busy talking about something so he went exploring the grounds by himself.  None of them had been outside yet.  Harry exited through the front door to find that the house was set back quite a way from the road.  Harry looked from side to side; the porch on the front of the house was quite wide and stretched to the corners of the building.  It was of course covered but not enclosed, so there was a cool breeze that smelled like sea salt and fish.  On the left side was a long padded bench seat hanging from chains and slowly moving in the breeze.  It was more than long enough for Ron or Bill Weasley to lie down on and snooze away a summer day.  On the other side was an oval table and eight comfortable looking chairs.  Under the front windows on both sides were planter boxes with flowers in them that could not possibly be blooming as they were, this time of year.  There were a few steps down to a half circle of cobbles with paths leading off in three directions.

 The middle one was anything but a straight line to the gate that was actually in the middle of a chest high hedgerow that separated the property from the road beyond.  The hedge from the front of the property turned at each end and disappeared behind the house on both sides.  The other two paths disappeared out of sight around each side of the house.  The lawn was a cool shade of forest green, perfectly flat, trimmed and edged, it couldn't have more perfectly met Uncle Vernon's specifications.  For lack of an organized plan, after stepping off the porch, Harry followed the southern path around to his right.  He found more planter boxes under every window on the south side on the house.  Once around to the back it was obvious that the paths met up at a cobbled patio.  There was an umbrella covered table with six chairs near what he assumed was a stone and brick barbeque.  Two new paths meandered to the tree bordered rear edge of the property.  One was covered almost all the way from the back door and ended up at a barn like building in the southwest corner as he faced back from the house.  It looked like it had housed several horses and there would have been room for a carriage or two.  Today it could easily fit two cars and a few horses as well.  Harry could hear the sound of running water beyond the trees which made him curious and he followed the other path that seemed to end at the tree line.  By the time he neared the trees he could make out an old, somewhat overgrown, foot path into the forest.  He stopped at the edge of the trees and looked back at the house thinking to himself, 'Yea, I could live here ... we'll have to move the nursery to another room and maybe use that room for storage or something.  Other than that it's roomy, quiet and out of the way, if I survive this war that's just what I want ... peace and quiet ... for a few years anyway.'

Harry could feel Hermione's unusual bubbly self in the back of his mind; she was probably telling her parents everything that happened in the last eighteen days.  They didn't have any secrets from her parents anymore, except the stuff that they didn't tell anyone else, like the horcruxes.  Harry turned around, pulled his wand out and carefully made his way along the path.  As with all the other paths he had travelled since arriving here there was to be no straight line from point 'A' to point 'B', wherever point 'B' was.  The path seemed to turn back on itself, as if he was returning to the house, he kept going.  He felt it must end up somewhere and he was getting more determined to find out where.  Past another sapling and around an enormous tree trunk a grassy clearing appeared as if by magic.  The grass was trimmed and edged to perfection just like the lawns at the house.  There was a stone bench in the middle; Harry noticed that it didn't seem to have a shadow and thought that to be odd.  The trees on the southwest side of the clearing were casting shadows in the late afternoon sun, but not the bench.  The path seemed to continue on the west side of the clearing near a small deer that was feeding in the shade and hadn't noticed him yet.  The light breeze was blowing in his face from across the clearing so the deer wouldn't pick up his scent; he remained perfectly still and watched.  Nearly fifteen minutes later Harry moved his feet a little and heard a snapping sound from beneath his left foot, the deer obviously heard it too.  It looked up, turned, and was gone before Harry could blink.  Disappointed, Harry's concentration wandered, the sound of running water was much closer.  Harry started to cross the grassy space, he wanted to check out the bench and as he got neared he thought he saw an outline shimmer momentarily in the air.  Harry stopped, senses peaking, wand drawn, a reductor curse perched on his lips, he explored the surrounding trees with his eyes and stretched out his magic to search for traps.

A loud CRACK made Harry spin around, the curse almost formed in his mind, he pulled the curse back in time, but Hermione felt the sudden surge of fear very distinctly.  Dobby and Guinevere were both standing there, waiting patiently as Harry recovered his senses.

Hermione, charged by Harry's anxiety and not knowing exactly where to go, abruptly terminated the conversation with her parents with an 'I'll be right back' leaving out the 'I hope' part as she transformed into Caledfwlch.  A bright flash of white light later and she was flying in the sky over the trees away from the back of the house.  She spotted the clearing easily enough, then the bench, she was trying to home in on Harry's mind and her senses were telling her she was getting near.  She dove down speeding closer to the bench and once she was over it her vision locked onto Harry, kneeling down on the grass with two shorter people in front of him.  She spiralled down to where Harry was kneeling on the grass.  Harry looked up at the familiar sound of Phoenix wings screaming through the air and then watched the mighty bird hover for a moment, directly in front of him, Caledfwlch then transformed back into Hermione as her feet gracefully touched the ground.  He had to admire the way she could transform as she landed, it had to require perfect control and timing not to crash face first into the ground.

"Behind me, there's a structure around the bench ..." Stated Harry.  Hermione was about to cast one of several revealing charms when Guinevere snapped her fingers.  The vision of both teens snapped to Guinevere and then to the stone Mausoleum as it became visible.  The bench was now out of sight within the stone walls of the Potter Mausoleum.

Guinevere made a noise and when she had their attention she suggested that they not enter the Mausoleum until tomorrow and then told them that supper would be ready by the time they walked back to the house.  The two House Elves disappeared with another CRACK leaving Harry and Hermione looking at the Mausoleum.  It was like giving candy to a child and telling him not to eat it, then walking away ... that ain't gonna happen.

Harry turned and headed for what seemed to be the entry point.  Hermione knew it was useless to try to keep him out of there so she followed him.  Inside was a long hallway with cubicles in the walls that seemed to be organized like a Family Tree.  The first two on the right, just inside the door appeared to be the beginning, An Isabella B. (Gryffindor) Potter and a Harold J. Potter.  Inside the cubicles were urns for the ashes, They had been cremated, a common custom in the Wizarding World.  Cremation reduceded the possibility that someone, like Voldemort, could use your body, blood, bones, hair or other bits for any nefarious purpose.

Most of the cubicles were in pairs with a bronze plaque below, a brief record of their lives, parentage and descendants.  There were also plaques with no cubicles, Harry stopped to look at the first of those and found that a Susan A. Potter married a George P. Kinghtly and was probably interred elsewhere with him.  As Harry walked down the hallway he noticed that the pairs were primarily male Potter descendants that remained and lived in Godric's Hollow or in the Castle of Camelot.  Hermione noted that for the most part the first born males first names alternated between Harold, Harry and James just as Ragnok had told them. 

On the second leg of his tour through family history, near the entranceway, the second to last pair of cubicles, the last pair to have urns were James H. Potter and Lilly T. (Evans) Potter.  Harry was for a few minutes mesmerized by the final resting place of his parents.  Hermione's curiosity took her to the final pair of cubicles.  There was a line in the stone wall connecting James and Lilly's plaque to the next cubicle.  They held no urns only a bronze plaque underneath denoting the following details:

Harry James Potter, 31 July 1980 to 12 December 3132

Bonded 31 July 1997 to:

Hermione Jane (Granger) Potter 19 September 1979 to 12 December 3132

Children:

The first thing Hermione noticed was that they had the same death day and they had to be a misprint. She would have believed a hundred and fifty-two years if it said 2132, but 3132 must be wrong, no one lives that long ... then Hermione saw the list of children and her vision went foggy, there were too many names listed ... far too many names listed ... a Quidditch team was half that size ... it was never going to happen ... if necessary she would cut off Prongs junior long before they had that many children.  She was going to have a serious talk with him about that very soon.

Hermione's vision cleared somewhat after the initial shock and she started reading the names to herself.  They were almost all girls names until the very last two, James Harold and Sirius Albus were born on the same day, on Harry's own birthday actually, almost ten years from now.  Talk about Divination, was she prepared to believe ... or not.

Hermione blocked Harry's view of the plaque and guided him out of there.  His mind was focussed on his parents so it wasn't difficult.  She apparated him back to the house and they made their way to supper.  She needed to have a talk with her Mother, maybe show her parents the Mausoleum and the last plaque.

Supper started out quietly until Emma asked where Harry had gone and what had happened.  Harry told them about his walk around the house and into the woods then Hermione told them about the Mausoleum and some of the things they found in it.  She didn't mention anything about the last pair of cubicles and the plaque.  She wouldn't until she had a chance to talk to her Mother and maybe show it to her.

Supper was fabulous, The four of them at the table speculated that the two elves must have been competing in the kitchen or they were simply much better cooks than Harry or Hermione had ever suspected.  Then came the cake ... a real cake this time, not the one Harry morphed out of his chest at midnight.  There would probably have been less calories in Harry's version of the cake.  This one was a chocolate cake that, although only forty centimetres long, was sculpted and baked in Hermione's shape.  The skin colouring and clothes she was currently wearing were added in various colours of frosting.  There was but one already lighted candle perched on her tummy in the shape of the number '18'.  Hermione blew it out quickly while wishing that she didn't have to give birth to all those children.  Naturally she never really expected the wish to be granted ... it was more an act of desperation.

After the cake there were presents, she opened her Father's present first.  After getting past the wrapping paper and box she found a red T-shirt with gold lettering across the back that was wrapped around a book.  She held the T-shirt up and read the back, there was a large number seven and in the same size printing below the number, the name "Harry Potter" was arced across the back.  It was just like his Quidditch Jersey except the words "Property of" were in much smaller print below the number and above Harry's name.  Hermione laughed ... not that she considered herself anyone's property, but beyond that it was true enough, she was his as much as he was hers.  The book was an album of childhood photos and as she scanned the first few pages she realized that some of them were the most embarrassing she could possibly imagine.  She was an only child and they took photos of her doing everything imaginable including several as she came out of Emma's womb, and they were right at the front of the album.  Talk about first pictures and a birthday suit ... eeeeeew.  Hermione slammed the album shut before Harry could peek inside, then she sat on it.  Harry saw her smile back at her Father, but it wasn't really a happy smile ... it was more like an 'I'll have great pleasure ripping out all your finger and toe nails smile.  She hoped it wasn't going to be an 'embarrass Hermione night' even if Harry was ... whatever he was ... hers.  Sure he had seen her in all her glory, they had essentially examined each other in detail, but naked baby pictures in front of her parents was going too far.

Hermione picked up her mother's present, another box about the same size as her Fathers except that it weighed almost nothing.  Of course if Harry had anything to do with it the weight could be totally meaningless, the size too.  One evening in the latter part of the summer Emma had brought out a **_La Perla_** catalogue and another more exotic one too.  Using the story that she wanted to spice up her own nights and since her daughter was now sharing a bed she felt she could ask for a second opinion on some selections.  They browsed through both books laughing, giggling and smirking at what they expected their men's reactions might be.  It had never dawned on Hermione that she might be the victim of that evening's entertainment until she opened her Mother's present.

In front of Harry and her Father the box sprang open and a variety of colourful items came loose and fell out.  Her Father caught a pair of red knickers before they hit the floor.  Harry caught several things that came his way.  He watched as Dan held up the knickers.  Hermione was turning beet red as they all noticed the gusset ... they were peek-a-boo knickers.  Harry would be able to find his way in without removing them ... Mother how could you do this to me and she remembered that evening about a month ago and realized what it was really all about.  In those few seconds of time Harry had sorted through a couple of peek-a-boo baby-dolls, a few more of the same knickers in different colours, and was now holding up a see through black lacy bra.  When Hermione saw that she gave a sigh and closed her eyes.  Harry reached out and levitated her onto his lap, wrapping his arms around her as she landed.  Her face found his chest, landing just below his chin, her arms wrapping around his neck and one shoulder.  Emma picked up the loose clothing, folding and piling it neatly on a side table, then she reached over and picked up Harry's gift, handing it to him to present to Hermione.

He nudged Hermione to look at him and when she complied she saw the third present, a much smaller box wrapped in gold coloured paper.  She looked back at Harry, her eyes seemed to be pleading with him, hoping that this wasn't going to embarrass her too.

He could sense her trepidation, she couldn't handle any more embarrassing presents today.  Harry spoke, "As long as your parents did what I asked this is a very normal type of present that I think will make you happy."

Harry had loosened his grip on Hermione to take the present from Emma.  She then unwrapped her arms from him and accepted the gift.  Once the wrapping paper was removed and the outer cardboard box opened, a brown fuzzy box of the type that typically contained jewellery could be seen.  She looked at Harry's smiling face, then back at the box, it was somewhat larger than what she would expect an engagement ring to come in.  That was a good thing, while she wanted an engagement ring ... one day, that day wasn't today.

Hermione concentrated on the jewellery box and it popped open revealing a pair of sapphire earrings and a bird shaped pendant with sapphire eyes on a fine gold chain with flat links in a twisted pattern.  She looked up at Harry, her eyes and smile telling him he did very well indeed.


	49. Chapter 49 Yours Mine and Ours

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the books in the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling belong to the aforementioned J. K. Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

Not Another Author's Note: Many thanks to thescribbler for his kind assistance with this chapter.

I have posted 2 chapters at once. Click on 'previous' to read chapter 48a that was posted a short time ago.

My apologies in advance, but due to promised commitments between now (June1) and sometime in September, new chapters may be scarce. Thank you for your patience.

**Chapter 49a – Yours, Mine, and Ours**

After all of that, Hermione suggested to Harry that he should give her Father the Grand Tour. Catching on that Hermione wanted her Mum to herself for a while. the boys left to explore the house. Hermione began by staring at her Mother ... one of those 'if looks could kill' type of stares. Emma finally spoke, "You can't tell me that you and Harry won't have some fun with that underwear, probably even tonight." Hermione sighed and shook her head, her Mother was probably right, but really in front of everyone ... including her Dad.

It took a few minutes for them to get beyond that subject and on to what Hermione found in the Mausoleum. She was trying to explain the plaque under the empty cubicles and, noting the confusion apparent in her Mothers face, decided to apparate them both there. Hermione was now quite used to the 'being squeezed through a hosepipe' feeling that took her Mother by complete surprise. Yes, okay, Hermione had mentioned it once to her parents, during the summer, but ...

Hermione showed her Mum the first set of urns, demonstrating the link between Gryffindor and Potter, then crossed to the other wall and showed her James and Lilly's plaque. They followed the line in the stone to the empty cubicles for her and Harry, and finally, she saw the plaque underneath it. Emma studied the text for a good five minutes; Hermione could hear her mumbling numbers under her breath and using her fingers to keep track of something. The first question Emma asked was, "In your world, as you call it, does it still take nine months from conception to birth?"

Hermione scrunched up her face and shook her head, confused at her Mum's question. "Yes, of course it does Mum ... why?" _Then she thought about what the end result could be if she was pregnant and used a time turner, but no, she wouldn't do that ... would she?_

"Then Harry either has a harem or you're picking up strays," Hermione's eyebrows went up, but her Mother continued before she could say anything coherent. "The birthdays for the most part are well under nine months apart except for one instance that is ten months, which is still too close together."

"Oh thank Merlin," responded Hermione, "I was dreading the thought that I was going to have to chop off his Willie ... it's …._so big_". The last bit she said in a whisper that was full of pride and barely-concealed pleasure.

Her Mother coughed, "Too much information", and then began laughing. Her chuckles lasted several minutes before she was able to regaining her composure. Her mothers' laughter was contagious. Hermione first blushed when she realized what she had said, and, after a minute, began to laugh also. Both Mother and daughter re-examined the birthdates and concluded that it would be impossible for Hermione to give birth to all of them, or even most of them, perhaps five or six at the most. Hermione was greatly relieved. A half-dozen births was still more than she had ever anticipated.

Emma had noticed the death dates, but since neither one of them had actually died, assumed them to be fictitious until Hermione brought them back to her attention. Since neither one could come up with any reasonable explanation, Hermione finally decided that they would have to ask Godric when they returned to the house.

The two women started to work their way backwards through the Potter timeline. After checking out all the details on James and Lilly they shuffled over to Charlus and Dorea (Black) Potter, one of the few names that wasn't a Harry or a James. When they found the Parents of Charlus, the explanation was evident; Charlus did have an older brother named Harold James who died at age seven, leaving Charlus as the surviving eldest male offspring.

Hermione and Emma had made it to the far end when Dan and Harry found them. Hermione whispered quietly to her mother before asking, "Harry dear," in a sickly sweet voice, "Please look at the last bronze plaque and tell me if that is what you meant when you asked me if I would fill up all three Castles with little Potters for you?" Harry knew he was in trouble just from the tone of her voice. Dan on the other hand, having more experience in these situations, knew that poor Harry was already dead and simply didn't know enough to fall down properly.

Dan quickly put his hand over Harry's mouth to prevent him from saying anything that might further incriminate him while they both read the plaque. The death dates, or lack thereof, confused them, but they skipped past that and finally saw the humongous list of children. Harry was about to respond to Hermione when Dan's hand tightened over Harry's mouth. Dan whispered to Harry, "Whatever you say will be wrong, just tell her you love her and you're sorry, then plead for your life." When Harry nodded his head Dan released his mouth. They both looked over to find their women hugging each other and giggling like silly schoolgirls. Harry looked back at Dan, both of them more confused than ever. They looked at the list again … Harry and Dan spotted the clue at the same moment, the third, fourth and fifth child were born the same year, this year, several months apart … that was impossible … unless … they adopted. Dan and Harry reached the same conclusion, they looked at each other strangely, Dan gave a nod and a wink as a sign of approval before he hugged Harry. Very quickly there was a group hug and they all returned to the house while trying to determine where the extra children came from and how many were actually their own.

Dobby and Guinevere met them all as they entered the kitchen through the back door, Dobby led Harry and Hermione to the Master Bedroom and Guinevere led the Grangers to a Guest Bedroom on opposite ends of the second floor. Guinevere had already brought up the Granger's luggage and unpacked for them. Dobby had brought and put away the clothes and supplies the teens had laid out on their beds at school. Hermione's presents were laid out on the master bed, Dobby was unsure if they were to be put away or not. Dobby left them alone a moment later and Hermione could see Harry looking at the bed, then her, then back to the bed, they both started to blush. She could sense that he was confused. Unsure about what to think of the situation, she gave up. He had seen her in nothing at all, so what was his trouble with some sexy lingerie laid out on the bed? She then asked him to pick out whatever he wanted her to wear to bed tonight and she would put the rest away.

He returned; a look of edgy eagerness on his face, and picked up the pale blue knickers and a matching baby-doll. Hermione's eyes sparkled and she grinned to herself, it was funny really, he could and did touch those garments when she was wearing them, well not those exact ones, yet ... but others, similar ... yet he seemed hesitant to look at them or touch them when they were laid out on the bed. She waved her hand in the direction of the bed and the rest of the items folded and stacked themselves in a neat pile then hovered over to the dresser where her underwear drawer opened to accept them. She went over to Harry and kissed him; wrapping her arms around him for a moment. He was truly precious. When she released him and stepped back he was still holding the two items at arm's length between thumb and forefinger ... one in each hand, as if they might bite back. She smiled and took them from him, putting them on the top of the dresser.

"Later ... lover ... I expect Mum and Dad are back downstairs, they're probably wondering what we're doing with all the sexy lingerie. Do you think we should go down and ease their minds?" She had changed her earrings for the sapphire ones and slipped the pendant that Harry gave her over her head. Once she flipped her hair out from under the gold chain Harry could see that the pendant rested nicely, midway in her cleavage; he would have to thank Emma for adding that to the package.

They followed the sound of piano music to the Lounge on the main floor where the theme from "The Sound of Music" was being played on the Grand Piano by Emma while Dan was looking at portraits and other knick-knacks around the room. Hermione sat down beside her Mum and started playing too. It took a few minutes of enjoying the music to realize that they had no printed music in front of them ... they were playing from memory. Harry stood there mesmerized; he never knew that Hermione could play the piano. Harry lay down on the sofa, closed his eyes and concentrated on the music. After a dozen or more songs and at least an hours time ... the music stopped. Dan and Emma said their goodnights, Hermione got two hugs and three kisses, the extra one from Dan she was supposed to pass on to Harry. Harry got two hugs, but only one kiss from Emma, Dan told him he would have to collect his second kiss from Hermione. Somehow Harry didn't think that was going to be too difficult, besides, he suspected Hermione was a better kisser.

Dan and Emma left and he soon heard them laughing as they climbed the stairs to their bedroom. Little did the two teens know, but Emma had her own stash of naughty lingerie and dress up costumes. Emma had become a little bolder and more inventive since Hermione had gone away to Hogwarts and Dan had been happy to play along. When they did, they usually played a doctor, nurse, patient scenario of some sort, however Emma was going to surprise Dan tonight with a new naughty schoolgirl outfit that she had recently put together. Emma had avoided that particular idea until now in case her daughter should happen across it and get the wrong impression. Her daughter was now far too impressed with Harry, so she deemed it as not an issue.

Harry did collect his wayward kiss before they left the lounge and a few more as well. When they separated some fifteen minutes later they were both breathing heavily. Harry could see her rock-hard nipples trying to poke through her bra and the new red t-shirt. He couldn't resist rolling her sensitive points between his thumbs and forefingers; she moaned and held on to his neck for support as her knees threatened to buckle. His engorged organ was trying desperately to escape. Hermione felt the 'not so little' fellow pressing against her and when she had confidence that her knees would not buckle she pulled away to arms-length. Hermione had a devil-may-care grin on her lips as she looked down at Harry's crotch, admiring her handy work.

"I think we had better go upstairs before it's too late." Whispered Harry as he picked her up and apparated them both to their bedroom.

They embraced again with a furry, but their kiss was still gentle and passionate. Hermione began to tingle all over, his warmth flooding through her again and pooling between her legs, making her ever so wet. She began to tremble in his arms and moan against his lips, "Now Harry, please now," Harry reached down and scooped her up in his arms, her arms tightened around his neck and their kiss was broken. He gently placed her on the centre of their bed, whereupon she prepared to shuffle over to give him room. Harry placed a hand gently on her stomach and with a shake of his head indicated she should stay put. She watched him closely as he went to the foot of the bed, took off his glasses and his trousers, his 'little friend' was poking out of the boxers, still firmly erect. He kneeled down, only the top of his head was visible as she looked over the end of the bed to find him. Harry peeled off her shoes and then he removed her socks and kissed the soles of her feet. She giggled and squirmed because it tickled. Harry wanted to try something new, he had heard some other boys talk about it, and at the time he didn't know what to think … but now…… he loved the taste of her from his fingers and hers. He promised himself he would do something special for her and he hoped this was it … time to dive right in. He slowly started moving his hands from her feet to her ankles and on up her legs as he climbed onto the bed straddling her legs. By the time his hands reached her knees she was wondering what he had planned and gulped a soft 'hurry up'.

As he moved higher, his hands moved towards her inner thighs. When he reached the apex of her legs, his thumbs slowly rubbed over her sex on their way to her waist. Hermione inhaled sharply as he touched her, she squirmed and wriggled, then raggedly released the breath she was holding as he moved up to her waist. Harry gently pulled at the waistband of her jeans and knickers and she lifted herself to allow them to slide down her legs. He moved teasingly slow making sure to free them from between her legs as he pulled them over the slight hump of her bum. Harry stopped there to admire her sparse brown curls and plant a kiss in her bush. He could smell her wetness and taste the heavenly aroma coming from her sex. It drove him mad with desire and he could feel the pre-cum leaking out his raging erection. He was so hard it almost hurt.

His warm exhaled breath made her squirm again as he used his tongue to taste her. She moaned at the feel of his soft wet tongue in her sex and rasped at him to hurry up. Harry moved down to her feet pulling her jeans down then reaching up he removed her knickers. She only just realized that she had not changed into her new peek-a-boos that he had picked out when Harry brought her knickers up to his face and started sucking on the wet gusset. When he finished with the knickers he gently spread her legs and started moving his face up between them alternately kissing and licking the insides of both legs every inch or two as he slowly climbed onto the bed.

She was going to kill him if he didn't get on with it! This was torture ... exquisite torture, but torture none the less. She again wanted him inside her. Her breathing became erratic; she was grasping the bed clothes with a death grip while waves of pleasure rolled through her body. She tried to gulp air and talk at the same time, Hermione finally managed to say, "Harry … I can't … you can't … I … I need you … inside me … now … it's gotta be … NOW!" she yelled. Harry heard her, he could feel her every reaction, and though he was sorely tempted to give in, he didn't. The furor that was his cock wasn't helping. He was now painfully erect needing that warm wet place that he had a taste of this morning.

Harry kept slowly working his way up her legs, spreading them as he went. He knew that if he focused on her the right way, she would eventually forgive him. She began massaging her own breasts and rolling her nipples between her fingers. Harry was watching her hands work those beautiful breasts while she squirmed and wriggled and he worked his way up her legs. He reached forward and under her to cup her bottom cheeks and as he neared his target she could feel his hot breath on her core and through her tawny bush. Merlin, she was so, so ready for him and he was almost there. Her thighs were spread wide now, her knees up and her feet perched on the edges of the bed. Harry lifted her up as he licked up each thigh to her core and savoured her moist folds. The aroma and taste of her sex was driving him insane. She pushed down with her feet to help him lift. The next thing she knew he was running his tongue up the outside of her folds, she arched her back and gasped for air, whimpering until his tongue ran through her bush and stopped. Her breath ran out with a scream of, "Oh God, Oh God, Oh God … you are … my God." Harry hadn't figured out the combination of flavours yet. It was slightly salty, a little spicy and something that was just…._her_. Harry looked up and, as emerald and chocolate eyes met, he licked his lips and smiled. She climaxed right then and there, screaming his name. She lifted her head; watching him as she did so. He was holding her legs apart; looking down as he moved his hands so his thumbs could hold her folds apart - making easy access for his tongue to lap up the liquid love in and around her sex. She continued gasping and writhing in his meagre grip, her juices flowing freely, his nose, tongue, lips and chin were dripping with her sweet honey. He gradually worked his way through her flower and up to her pleasure button, he had no sooner swirled it with his tongue when she growled his name and climaxed again. Her legs tried to close again on his head and force it away from her core.

**Dan & Emma's room**

In the middle of Dan and Emma's 'naughty schoolgirl & Headmaster scene, they started seeing several small knick-knacks as well as some of their personal items floating in mid air. They stopped what they were doing and watched in amazement as more and heavier items began to rise as well.

Guinevere popped into their room, and, while excusing herself, promptly stuck as many items and pieces of furniture down as she could. She left the bits of Emma's new outfit floating as they would cause no harm when they eventually fell.

**H & Hr's room**

Dobby had quietly entered the teen's bedroom a few minutes earlier and done much the same, he added a silencing charm so that her parents wouldn't hear her scream 'Harry' in a few minutes. He also put a magic absorbing charm on the padded bench at the foot of the bed. He and Guinevere then proceeded to stick everything down in the rest of the house that they had missed earlier.

Harry was using all the force he could muster to keep her legs from closing. He wanted to keep going, to keep teasing her clitoris, to bring her to a roaring finale. His tongue was too short to penetrate her ... then he had a thought ... he was a Metamorphmagus after all ... his changes didn't have to conform to any one person or animal. He concentrated on his tongue, engorged it and lengthened it several inches, then reached the new tongue out to find her flower. Her lips were no longer wide open, his fingers had slipped, but his tongue was strong and wet now and she was slippery. Hermione let out a squeal as his tongue penetrated her folds, flicked around her flower and found her entrance. She had thought when he pulled back slightly, that she would have a moment to regroup her senses. It was not to be, though. Her heart rate was again climbing and her breathing was becoming short gasps. She kept trying to scream his name as her legs tried desperately but unsuccessfully to clamp around his head. His tongue kept teasing her as it slowly … ever so slowly, made its way inside her, she kept trying to scream his name in between ragged breaths. He finally reached her hymen and tested it gently while his nose teased her clit.

He teased her mercilessly with his tongue and nose until she stiffened, arched her back and screamed his name for a third time. She then collapsed like a limp noodle, spent and exhausted. Her legs relaxed, her feet slid down the bed, she felt completely numb. Harry had exploded at the same time as Hermione and there was a wet sticky pool expanding near the foot of the bed. Harry was exhausted too, though it was more from forcing her legs apart than his herculean efforts with his tongue and nose.

Harry raised his head and looked up at her. He had a breathtaking view of her, glistening body, breasts rising and falling with each deep breath. Harry slowly advanced up her body; planting kisses here and there until his tumescence came to rest against her over-heated sex. Harry would have thought that he'd not be able to rise to the occasion so soon: that he would be satiated for a while...but his body thought otherwise. Harry stifled a private chuckle that the 'little guy' must have recognized his surroundings. As he started to harden again, he soon found his way inside Hermione's incredible wetness. Hermione gasped at the unexpected intrusion and Harry took in a deep breath. That warm ... no hot, wet, slippery feeling he had last week when she went down on him with her mouth was back. His body was pushing against her while trying to snap to attention.

He could feel Hermione reaching between them with one hand while wrapping her other arm around him. The moment she grabbed his hardness, she shifted, pulling the little guy out of his new found home and flipping them over so she was on top of Harry. She seemed freshly invigorated and quickly turned around. She perched her core above Harry's head giving her a birds-eye-view of his swollen member. Harry's eyes lit up as he tried to catch her still dripping juices with his mouth. Pulling Hermione's sex down to his tongue as she reacquainted him with the delights of her mouth and tongue. Neither of them lasted very long this time, it didn't seem like more than a minute before they screamed each other's names. Hermione collapsed and rolled off him. In a moment they were dead to the world.

In the morning Hermione woke up first with a huge smile on her face until the thought of what kind of a disaster they might have made last night seeped into her mind. She didn't want to open her eyes, she was certain it was going to be a terrible mess. When she realized she was in her normal waking up position, nearly head to chin with Harry, she wondered how it happened. His arms squeezed her and she lost her train of thought to his feelings of love and happiness.

**Going back a bit**

Dobby returned an hour later to check up on the teens once he and Guinevere had finally sorted the house out. Dobby then magically lifted Hermione and turned her around, settling her head to shoulder with Harry and covering them. The teens were both oblivious to the change in positions other than Harry unconsciously wrapping his arms around her. Dobby then replaced the charred covering on the bench at the foot of the bed.

**Return to AM**

Harry eventually returned from the Land of Ozz to find Hermione wrapped up in his arms and watching him closely. Harry's 'woody' was making an impression on her and she was just hoping that it was because he too had a full bladder. She made her excuse, gave him a quick kiss and slipped out of bed to their private loo. It took Harry a couple of minutes to go from groggy to fully awake. It was when he heard the toilet flush and the shower running that he realized his immediate needs and made a mad dash for the porcelain god and the seat that he assumed Hermione had just warmed for him. There was no point standing, there was no way he could force his erection to point down, so once seated, he had to lean forward to be able to aim the little guy down enough to drain itself in the bowl. He usually didn't let his bladder get that full.

By the time he staggered into the shower, he was finally hanging low. Hermione rapidly fixed that tiny problem by wrapping her arms around him and hugging him tightly. "Harry," she whispered loudly enough for him to hear over the noise of the water, "Yesterday was THE BEST birthday I have ever had ... embarrassing moments and all, it was still THE BEST DAY of my life ... from midnight to midnight ... and beyond." She remained hanging on to him, enjoying the feel of his body against hers, his soapy hands were stroking up and down her back adding to the moment. She released him after several minutes and helped him wash his back.

As they were getting dressed Hermione tried to apologize for not wearing any of the new lingerie last night. Harry succeeded in convincing her that he too thought yesterday was wonderful and he wouldn't want to change anything, besides there's always next time, if they thought of it.

When the pair finally made it downstairs it was lunchtime, her parents were there along with Remus. Remus had already broken the bad news about their home and had been telling them what he knew of the Potter history and the nearby village that was also called Godric's Hollow.


	50. Chapter 50

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the books in the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling belong to the aforementioned J. K. Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

Not Another Author's Note: Many thanks to thescribbler for his kind assistance with this chapter.

I have just read 'Soul Searching' and 'End Game' by 'chem prof' on fanfiction-dot-net. The story and sequel were completed in '06. I liked both stories. I did notice a large number of 'devices' that are similar between this story and those stories and I want my readers to know that I have only just read them and any apparent duplication is chance. As I add this note today's date is June 14 '08. I do get ideas from other stories and from reviews and when I use them 'more or less as is' I do give credit to, and get permission from, the author.

Chapter 50 – "_The Large, Green, Snake Head_"

"Good morning sleepyheads." Said Remus, due to his wolf-like hearing, he was the first to notice their approach.

"Morning?" questioned Hermione, "It must be near lunchtime.

"Did you two have fun last night?" asked Emma, Hermione responded with a nervous smirk, as if to say 'wouldn't you like to know'.

"What's going on Professor Lupin?" Asked Harry. "We didn't expect to see you here ... or anyone else for that matter."

"Good question, sit down and I'm sure Gwen will make something for us to eat." Remus told them. "It seems there was some Death Eater activity overnight. Two Ministry employees were found in a records vault in the wee, small hours of the morning. They were looking through the records of Muggle Borns and were copying files. They appeared to be under the _Imperius_ curse." Hermione's hands flew up to cover her mouth as a gasp slipped out. She looked at her parents, sitting across the table, her eyes wide as platters. Harry was in shock too, but he could see that the important people in their lives were here and safe.

"What about Aunt Petunia?" Harry asked, "Do they know her new address?"

"No Harry, she's safe, all they have on file for the Dursleys' is the now vacant lot on Privet Drive", replied Remus.

"And our home?" Asked Hermione.

"It was ransacked" responded Emma. "There must have been other Death Eaters that took that information away before the Aurors arrived. The teens turned towards each other, and embraced quickly before Hermione rushed to her parent's side.

Fawkes suddenly appeared with a message and dropped it in front of Remus. When he picked it up and opened it, he read the first few words and slammed it down face first on the table. Dan, feeling more confident that normal around Remus, reached over a moment later and slid it out from under the old wolf's fingers. Dan read the first line also and slammed it down. Harry had had enough of this, he reached out and the note flew to his fingers. Remus looked up in surprise ... then realized it was ... just Harry. He knew they were very accomplished with wandless magic; it just took some getting used to.

Harry read it and let out his breath in resignation before showing it to Hermione. The building that housed the Grangers' Dental Practice and many other Medical Practices, was at this moment burning out of control. The Aurors suspected a _Fiendfyre_ curse was used to torch it. The Muggle Firemen could only keep the fire from spreading to other neighbouring buildings. Fortunately the fire started this morning at about 4 Am and there were only two cleaning people inside, they escaped after setting off the Fire Alarm. Hermione engulfed her parents in a sympathetic hug. Harry sat down beside Remus.

"Professor ... how did you get in here?" asked Harry.

"What?" He replied, "I've always been able to get in here ... ever since your Dad and Sirius brought me here for Christmas in our first year." Remus thought for a moment, it dawned on him and Hermione at the same time_, Pettigrew and Voldemort know about this place, too._

Hermione looked straight at Professor Lupin as Remus said, "We need to replace the _Fidelius charm_ as soon as possible, I can show you how, but one of you two is going to have to do it ... pick a secret keeper."

The teens looked at each other, then Hermione spoke, "Not that I don't want to learn how, but why don't you just do it for us?"

"Two words," said Remus, "Raw magical power." Hermione snickered when she realized that he had said three words.

"Remus" said Harry. And since he didn't say any more they all looked at Harry in confusion. "Remus is the secret keeper." Elaborated Harry, then he looked Remus in the eyes and added, "That is, if you'll accept the responsibility."

"Are you sure Harry? I'm not the most reliable person for this task you know?" Remus queried.

Harry turned his head towards Hermione and asked, "Luv?" Implying that he wanted her response or confirmation.

Dan and Emma were close to getting sore necks as the conversation went back and forth from one side of the table to the other. Hermione's gaze turned to Harry and she responded, "You couldn't choose a better person," and nodded her head.

"I wasn't here when Dumbledore did this originally, later I looked up and memorized the procedure. Follow me everyone." And Remus made his way out the back door and across the yard, ending up at the path to the Mausoleum. Leading the group along the path it didn't take long to find a tree with red and gold leaves. It was fall after all and the leaves of maple trees were well into their seasonal colour change. "Look for Bowtruckles," Remus instructed.

Dan and Emma looked at each other as if to say, 'what the heck is a Bowtruckle?'

The two teens began scanning the maple tree. Hermione had noticed the confused looks her parents gave each other and began the textbook explanation. "Bowtruckles are small magical creatures that look like stick men. I doubt you'll be able to see them until I can point one out to you. Anyway they are tree guardians, and normally inhabit trees with wand quality wood." She then turned to Harry, "We'll have to collect some wood lice or Fairy eggs to bribe them."

This tree didn't have any Bowtruckles; therefore Remus didn't trust the wood quality. They were however able to collect a good supply of wood lice. Hermione conjured a small lidded jar to store the lice in.

They didn't find another maple until they were in the clearing. There was a younger maple than the first one and near it was a sapling with a trunk about the size of Hermione's wrist. They were both infested with Bowtruckles. "We'll take the smaller tree, Hermione could you tempt the Bowtruckles over to the larger tree with your jar of lice, the rest of you back up a bit ... once I sever the sapling ... I'll have to get it away from here quickly.

Dan, Emma and Harry backed up, Harry was surprised to notice that the Mausoleum had disappeared leaving only the stone bench behind. Harry moved Dan and Emma to one side in case Remus needed a straight path to the bench, which turned out a minute later to be a very good plan. As soon as Hermione had all the Bowtruckles feeding on the lice, Remus used a severing charm to top the slender tree and again to separate its trunk from the stump. Remus levitated the remaining limbless piece that was about three meters long and ran over to the stone bench in the middle of the clearing. Hermione quickly backed away from the now angry Bowtruckles and followed Remus. The little creatures didn't like grass and therefore wouldn't follow. Harry and Hermione both noticed the shimmering outline of the Mausoleum momentarily as Remus ran through part of the end wall near where the door had been. Although Dan and Emma remembered the structure that was here yesterday, neither they nor Remus saw the shimmering outline that the two teens did.

Remus quickly shifted into Professor mode and explained to the teens the next steps involved in setting up a Fidelius charm. First we need to make ten wooden stakes from wand quality wood. Six of them can be smaller since they don't need to be as sturdy as the corner posts. He told Harry to cut the trunk into two roughly equal length pieces, and Harry did. Remus took one and passed it to Hermione then told them how to use a cutting curse to square the wood. Harry had the top piece of the trunk so it came out as a smaller square. Remus then had Hermione cut hers into four pieces and Harry was to make six pieces and then they both had to sharpen them so they could be driven into the ground later. Cutting and severing curse were getting lots of exercise today.

Hermione next had to charm her four corner posts to magically connect them together. Taking all the posts with them they hiked through the trees to the Northwest corner of the property and Remus showed them where the remains of the old post was that Dumbledore put in seventeen years ago. Once the old Fidelius charm was broken, the posts eventually rotted away. Remus showed them how to magically force the new post into the hard ground and Hermione had no problem forcing it down to be flush with the ground surface. They made their way to the southwest corner and did the same and then to the two east corners finalizing that step in the process.

On the South side of the house where there was more room and near the edge of the property where they could see the general locations of the four corner posts, Remus had Harry place one of the smaller stakes as a centre point. At a radius of two paces Harry placed four more stakes in a direct line between the centre point and each of the four corner posts. Harry had one last stake in his hand and looked towards Remus, slightly confused. Remus handed Hermione a bag of chalk that he took out of his coat pocket and explained in detail the final steps they had to do. Hermione drew a circle at a radius of one pace from the centre point while Harry placed his last stake two paces south of the centre, almost at the property line. Remus apparated over the hedge to a position outside the property and in line with Harry's last stake. Hermione then continued to make a chalk outline of the irregular pentagram that was defined by the five stakes and base circle. The two teens then stood in the centre of the pentagram and Hermione summoned as much magical power from Harry as she thought was safe before casting the final spell that made up the Fidelius charm. When she finished, Harry staggered and grabbed onto her. A huge dome made up of golden lines like a bird cage engulfed the property. It was visible for only a minute and as it vanished the Grangers and Potters looked at each other wondering where they were. All they could see was a grassy field, they couldn't even remember the house, and Remus was standing about twenty feet away.

At the moment that the golden cage appeared Remus thought he saw some movement and heard some noise just beyond their property line, but he couldn't be sure. "Alright you four don't move, I'll be right there." And Remus apparated between the teens and her parents. Remus could see everything perfectly and he had two slips of parchment prepared, he handed one to each couple. It read 'The Potters and Grangers are currently staying at _1313 Sir Lucan_ _Lane_ near the village of Godric's Hollow'. When both couples read the note they felt a brief surge of disorientation as everything that had vanished, including their memories of this house, came back.

"That appears to have worked Remus." Said Harry, except for the pentagram where he was standing everything seemed to have returned.

"What happened to the pentagram?" asked Hermione.

"It was consumed while sending the magic out to the four corner posts and myself" answered Remus. "We need to find your house elves and let them in on the secret, but first, Harry," Remus pointed to the northeast corner of the property and said, "I thought I saw and heard something over there." Harry seemed to have recovered from the energy drain and looked in the direction the Professor had indicated; he couldn't see anything at the moment. Remus bent over and whispered some instructions to him and Harry started running over to the corner of the property.

"Harry NO!" Shouted Hermione and then she whipped her hand up to cover her mouth, albeit far too late if anyone outside the Fidelius charmed area could have heard her. By the time Harry stopped and looked back he was close to the indicated corner. He tried to look over the hedge and into the bush beyond with no luck. He turned, looked at Hermione, waved and slowly shrank into the grass. Everyone's eyes were transfixed on the spot where Harry ... vanished ... until an enormous, green-black snake head lifted a few feet above the grass; did what looked like a very silly dance for a moment and then nodded good-bye to them as they laughed and watched him move away.

In Greater Hangleton

Voldemort was disappointed that his Death Eaters had not found the Mudblood's parents at home, however, they had found out where they worked and a few of the more enthusiastic ones checked there before destroying that entire building. One of his newer recruits was watching the Granger home for any signs that they returned. He had heard through Crabbe and Goyle that their sons had reported not seeing Potter or his Mudblood since yesterday's PD class. They were either holed up and not even coming out for food or they had somehow left the Castle without being seen.

Voldemort had even issued orders a while ago to send Pettigrew out to ... somewhere ... he couldn't remember where, to see if there were any signs of Potter activity. The fact that he couldn't remember where he sent Pettigrew disturbed him and he quickly suspected that Potter had somehow put a Fidelius charm in place. He would have to wait until the stupid rat returned to find out where he went. If he couldn't find the Mudblood or her parents he might send his Death Eaters to The Burrow to see what fun they could have with the Blood Traitors. Maybe that would be a good one to test Snape's loyalty because he was beginning to wonder about Snape – especially since he heard that the Potions Master had been inquiring about his health.

Return to Godric's Hollow Just before the Fidelius Charm took effect

Having received his orders from Dolohov, Peter apparated to a location a short distance away from where he thought the Potter home's sat in Godric's Hollow. It was the same spot that the four Marauders had always used, just off the road and behind some large trees. In half a minute, he could be at the front gate from here, so he made his way to the road and started walking. As he approached the property he could see glimpses of the house through the trees and he thought he could hear voices. By the time he was near the last of the trees obscuring his view he thought he saw some golden lines in the sky and then a familiar figure disappear from sight just slightly beyond the property ... but whose property ... it appeared to be a large grassy field ... immaculately manicured, but still a grass covered field. Peter stopped before he would have come into plain view of the five people that he could no longer see in that grassy field. He seemed to remember that he wanted to be here for a very good reason, but for the life of him he couldn't remember what that reason was. He remained hidden, intending to watch for several hours. He had been sent here for some reason that he couldn't quite remember and he didn't want to return and face Snake Breath unless he had some useful information.

The remaining four went inside and found Dobby and Guinevere in a bit of distress until Remus kneeled down and told them where they were. Now everything was back to normal for all those who were here ... sort of.

Dan and Emma's home and Dental Practice was still a little up in the air. The physical location of their dental practice was literally 'up in smoke', but because their accountant had insisted several years ago that they hire on an 'off site' backup service all their computerized records should be intact. The backups were scheduled for every Friday at 6 Pm. Right now there were Aurors and Order members watching the house and presumably a Death Eater waiting for the Grangers to return home. If nothing happened by Monday, Remus told them, Tonks would morph into Emma and pretend to be returning home to try to draw out any watching Death Eaters. Hermione immediately volunteered Harry to morph into her Father and make it more convincing. She had an ulterior motive behind volunteering Harry. She could certainly play herself and accompany Tonks and Harry in the setup, providing that much more fire power if it came down to a fight

Hermione insisted that her parents stay here or at Camelot, which she was going to show them today anyway. The Grangers put up a small fight to return home, even though they were aware of the reality of their situation, and then gave in to Hermione's insistence. Remus would accompany them on Monday to see their accountant and make arrangements with their receptionist and several other dentists they knew to take some of their patients temporarily. They had carried insurance to cover fire losses and loss of business for a while, but the longer they had to remain away, the more it would cost in lost revenue. It made starting up again quickly more pressing – and that added to their stress.

Back a bit

Harry had slithered through the hedge bordering the property and into the woods beyond. He had taken, as best he could remember, the size and shape of Nagini, Voldemort's pet snake. He had seen the snake through Voldemort's eyes and had even seen some of the world through Nagini's eyes. It was an interesting perspective. Harry had gone a fair distance into the woods so he could turn around and come up behind whoever Remus had seen through the trees. Before Harry turned around he smelled an odour that made his mouth water, it smelled like food, like a very large and fat rat. He then realized that they had been interrupted in their quest for breakfast or in reality lunch as it was now past noon.

Harry forced himself to take his time and circle around, he kept reminding himself that it was Pettigrew and he certainly didn't want Pettigrew in his stomach. 'Eeewwwwww gross!' He thought. Bite him ... poison him ... kill him, yes, but eat him ... NO! Even if he was a large, juicy, tasty rat. _Yuk!_

Peter was standing, leaning against a small tree and looking in the direction where the Potter's house had been. Harry slithered up the tree, more than half of him was still coiled up on the ground near Pettigrew's feet when he leaned his head over and placed it on Peter's shoulder. Peter was used to strange things, being in Voldemort's service and didn't jump or flinch, he turned his head and saw NaginiHarry, her tongue out tasting the air. Had Voldemort wanted him dead, Nagini would have already bitten or choked him.

Nagini's Harry's head rose up and looked Peter in the eyes. Twin beams of red light came from the snakes' eyes followed by two more of the same, strictly for insurance purposes, and Peter was well and truly stunned. Nagini Harry took a minute to look around, he couldn't see or smell anyone else in the area and morphed back into Harry. Grabbing Peter he apparated into the back yard of his house, not quite as quietly as he had hoped.

Remus had been listening for Harry and when he heard a faint pop he knew that Harry was back. He slipped outside while the Grangers were talking to Hermione and found a human Harry and a very stunned Peter Pettigrew. "Now what are we going to do with this treacherous rodent?" he asked Harry.

"Well ... I was just thinking that there must be a dungeon at Camelot that we could store him in. If we petrify him he won't be able to transform into a rat and slip away.

"Camelot ... what's Camelot?" asked Remus.

Harry looked at him in confusion, "The Main Castle ..." Harry responded, "Do you mean that my Dad never took you to the Castle? Surely he must have lived there ... didn't he?"

"No Harry ... this is the only place I ever saw. The house looked quite a bit different when James and his parents lived here. Lilly redecorated quite a lot. Charlus and Dorea died ... well, they were killed later in the summer after James' sixth year. That, more than anything, probably straightened James out for his seventh year. It gave him a purpose - so he knuckled down with the books and learned all he could in his last year at Hogwarts. That's probably what earned him Lilly's attention, then they started studying together and the pair of them got the best marks in their year. Lilly had always received the best marks, just like Hermione in that respect. James on the other hand, had been more like Fred or George and got enough marks to squeeze by, he was no dummy, James knew his stuff, he just didn't care about grades. In seventh year he started getting E's and O's on all his tests and even beat out Lilly on a few tests. She gained respect for him, they started talking, then studying together, then snogging and dating and by the end of the year they were engaged."

"Really," sighed Harry, "No one explained that to me before, I mean, how my parents got together. That's interesting you know ... Hermione and I became a couple in a very similar way."

"No!" stated Remus. "You two went from best friends, to being a couple, to being recognized as Bonded within a few weeks. It was bloody painful to watch the pair of you for the last few years and realize that you were cheating yourselves out of so much happiness. It's a relief that you're together now ... and behaving so well too." Remus chuckled.

"Thanks Remus, you know you could have said something to us years ago and made us that much happier" said Harry with a grin on his face. Harry realized all too well the dangers if he and Hermione had figured themselves out a few years earlier and was quite happy with the way things turned out. He levitated Pettigrew and continued, "Let's get this dork over to Camelot and put him in storage." Remus looked on in curiosity as Harry brought Pettigrew into the house.

Time re-synchronizes

Hermione wanted her parents to have a reusable portkey that would always bring them back here. She knew how to make a normal portkey, even though she wasn't supposed to know. When she saw Pettigrew being hovered inside by Harry, and Remus bringing up the rear, she stopped Remus and asked him to explain the different features of the portkey spell to her then she asked her parents to take off their wedding rings, something they always wore. Hermione cast the modified portus charm just as Remus had explained, adding the trigger words, 'Godric's Hollow', at the end of the spell. The two wedding bands glowed bright blue for a moment, then the glow slowly faded out. Remus congratulated her on another job well done while her parents hesitantly put their wedding bands back on.

"Mum, Dad ... if one of you can hold on to the other, then only one of you needs to activate the portkey. Simply tap the ring with a finger three times and speak the trigger phrase. The trigger is 'Godric's Hollow'. Remus laughed, he thought that was absolutely hilarious, almost like in The Wizard of Oz ... 'There's no place like home'. Remus knew that James probably wouldn't have caught on but Lilly would have been rolling on the floor laughing at the absurdity of it. Harry was standing there watching the Professor laugh and not knowing why. He had never come across the book at the Dursleys when he was younger or seen the movie. Vernon would not have any of that 'unnaturalness' in the house.

Hermione had felt Harry's mild confusion and it took a few seconds for her to make the connection that Remus had already made and about which he was laughing. Hermione had simply been trying to come up with something her parents would not normally say in casual conversation and Godric's Hollow fit her requirements. It then became obvious to her that Harry knew nothing of **_The Wonderful Wizard of Oz_**; she made a promise to herself to find the book or movie and show him, in the mean time a hug would have to do - followed by a brief explanation.

When they all finally looked at Harry and Pettigrew, Harry said, "Let's take Pettigrew and this party off to the main Castle ... off to Camelot." Hermione led the way to The Library and the tall portrait of the Apple tree in a grassy field.


	51. Chapter 51 Pettigrew Petrified

Disclaimer:

Any characters you recognize from the books in the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling belong to the aforementioned J. K. Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz' By L. Frank Baum, originally printed April 1900 by the George M. Hill Company of Chicago, USA is past its copyright and is in the public domain.

Not Another Author's Note: Many thanks to thescribbler for his kind assistance with this chapter.

**51 – Pettigrew Petrified**

Hermione waved her hand in front of the portrait, mumbling something under her breath that sounded vaguely familiar to Harry.  It sounded like 'Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!'  Those were the same words the Headmaster spoke to bring forth his … no, their, first ever feast at Hogwarts.  If Harry could have scratched his head he would have, but he was holding up Pettigrew.  Harry was sure those words were meaningless gibberish … like that failed spell to turn Scabbers yellow and some of the 'hocus pocus' phrases he would shout at Dudley when he got frustrated.  Looking at the portrait, he saw a black speck in the background of the portrait, off to the side and above the apple tree. 

Hermione had wandered off towards some bookshelves where she had seen a small collection of Muggle storybooks.  It took her but a moment to spot the recognizable but tattered cover of 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'.  She opened the cover, slightly curious and scanned the printing details: Printed by The George M. Hill Company of Chicago, USA and dated April 1900.  It dawned on her that this was a First Edition and one of the earlier releases.  It had obviously been read a lot by someone, ahhh … Lilly Evans was penned on the inside cover.

Harry kept watching as the speck in the portrait became larger, its colour changed to scarlet and it appeared to be growing wings.  Very quickly after that it could be recognized as a familiar red and gold Phoenix soaring gracefully in their direction.  Fawkes dove down behind the tree and a moment later Godric Gryffindor stepped away from the trunk and began walking down the winding, grassy path between the flower garden and vegetable patch.  Remus was not quite as surprised as he had been when he saw Rowena step out of her portrait in the back of Hogwarts Library.  The Grangers, since this summer, were long past being surprised at anything their daughter and her friends came up with, they just assumed it was normal ... well ...Wizard and Witch normal anyway.  Godric seemed to take his time walking down the path from the tree to the foot of the portrait, his image growing larger as he appeared to get closer.  His last step brought him to the floor in front of the portrait, "Hello my friends," he said as he looked over the stunned, rat faced Wizard that Harry was hovering between them.  "Who do you have here Harry ... I believe I've seen him before ... though it has been a few years."

"This, Godric, is Peter Pettigrew." Harry began to explain.  Remus was a little taken aback with the familiarity that Harry seemed to be addressing the ancient and omnipotent Wizard, but he didn't say anything.  "He is the traitor that's responsible for my parents' deaths.  I caught him sneaking around and spying on us."

Godric had been looking the bedraggled and chubby Wizard over and spotted the silver hand, it was obviously a magical construct and Godric was exploring its makeup with great interest.  That is until he recognized the dark magic within it.  "What would you like to do with him and how can I help?"

"I need to keep him alive to testify after Voldemort is killed.  I need him alive to finally clear Sirius's name.  The fact that he is alive and the information he could give would clear up any lingering doubts that others may have.  He will also know where Voldemort is right now, but we have to be careful, he is an unregistered Animagus ... a rat." Replied Harry.

Godric went to Peter, opened one of his eyelids and peered into it, absorbing the pertinent information that Harry had talked about.  "If I take him through this portrait he will never more be seen, thus no use to you for evidence.  Stunned is not a safe way to leave him, he could wake any time and if no one is there to stun him again, he would be gone.  He needs to be petrified, but someone could easily release him from the standard _petrificus__ totalus_ charm."  Godric spoke his thoughts aloud.

"How about petrified as in by a basilisk's eye through a mirror or glass lens ... he would need a Mandrake potion to awaken?" Asked Harry.  Hermione shivered at the thought ... _that was exactly what had happened to her_.  It was a good thing that Harry didn't catch her look of horror, though he did feel her revulsion.

Godric looked at Harry, wondering just how the boy could come up with such a convoluted idea so quickly, then scratched his left ear.  "Perfect," said Godric, "Now does anyone have a spare basilisk hanging around that we could use?" he asked facetiously.

"As a matter of fact," responded Harry, grinning slyly, "If someone could take this Rat off my hands for a minute."  Remus and Harry looked at each other for a moment before the old Werewolf pulled out his wand and took over the levitation spell from Harry.  "I happen to have ..." Said Harry as he pulled out his Staff, "The magical eyeball of a basilisk, would that do?"

This of course caught Godric completely off guard, it was so unexpected, so Slytherin of this young Gryffindor, that Godric couldn't or didn't speak for several minutes.  When he did finally collect himself, he stated, "Yes, that will do splendidly ... now, first, let's get everyone out of here so that we don't risk petrifying anyone else.  Everyone except Harry and the Rat, follow me to Howard's office.  Harry I'll be back to help you in a minute, just drop him on the floor Mr. Lupin," Said Godric, as he helped the others into his portrait.  There was a resounding THUNK as Peter dropped about four feet and hit the floor.  Hermione looked at their ex Professor questioningly and Remus shrugged.  They all walked the winding path up to the apple tree and as they came around the back of the tree they appeared in the portrait in Howard Bedivere's office.

Howard happened to be facing the portrait at the time, he had swivelled his chair around to face it and was contemplating that one time about a month ago that he had seen Godric Gryffindor come out of it for the young Lord and Lady.  He knew of course that they were ... now isn't that funny, a couple of hours ago he could have sworn he knew exactly where the young couple were ... all he could come up with at the moment was that they were somewhere nearby and yesterday was the young woman's birthday.  His eyes were glazed over as he contemplated what he could and could not remember.  Seconds before the first of them stepped out of that portrait Howard realized something was wrong and jumped up out of his chair, wand drawn and pointed at the portrait.  Hermione was no one's fool, she had seen Howard before she stepped out of the portrait and saw him jump up.  She had her arm out in his direction and the palm of her hand facing him producing a shield as she stepped from the painting.  It took Howard a moment to recognize her and withdraw his wand.

Howard bowed to Hermione and said, "My Lady Gryffindor, A thousand apologies, you and your guests, you took me by surprise.  Welcome to Camelot, how may I be of service?"  Remus, Dan and Emma knew of the youngsters 'Titles', but had never heard anyone address either of them as such.  It was an interesting experience.

"Mr. Bedivere ... Harry and Godric will be bringing a petrified guest that will be in need of a secure place to stay for an indefinite period of time, I assume that this Castle has Dungeons or something suitable for the purpose?" inquired Hermione.

"Yes of course My Lady." Howard said as he bowed his head again.  "Bring your 'petrified guest' right here and I will see to it that he has the most secure accommodations that Camelot has to offer."

Hermione nodded her head and turned to Godric, she hesitated a moment, she felt it was disrespectful to address him by his given name, but that is exactly what he asked for the last time they were here. "Godric, would you please return to Harry and help him with Peter Pettigrew?" she asked in a soft, slightly intimidated, voice.  After all that she had read and heard of the four Founders of Hogwarts, to have one or more doing her bidding was to say the least a little overwhelming.

Harry had found a full length mirror in the Library and he conjured up an Albus style Chintz Armchair that he thought was a little too comfortable for Pettigrew.  With Pettigrew in the chair, Harry positioned it a little to the side of the mirror so that Harry wouldn't get flashed by the basilisk eyeball at the same time.  Just as Harry was getting anxious there was a red flash in the air behind him, Fawkes materialized and within view of his portrait he transformed into Godric Gryffindor.

Peter started to stir, they both heard a groan out of him, at that moment both Godric and Harry were ready for him and Peter did as expected, he pulled his wand.  Harry summoned the wand and broke it in two, Godric cast a spell to keep him from transforming into a rat and bound him to the chair so that he couldn't move or apparate.  Harry took the broken wand, threw it into the Library's fireplace and with a vicious glance, set it aflame.  The panicked look on Peter's face was a delight to behold.

Godric made sure he was out of the line of sight and the mirrors reflection, he then told Harry to proceed.  Harry had moved into position and pointed his staff at Pettigrew's reflection in the mirror then silently gave his staff the command.  The eyeball blinked and grew brighter for a moment, there were no beams of coloured light or sparks or anything noticeable except the now stony expression of panic on Peter's face.  The deed was done.  Harry realized that he could have just as easily pointed his staff at Peter and killed him, not that Peter didn't deserve it, but Harry's stomach nearly erupted just thinking about it.  Harry didn't want to be a killer ... not really.  He knew of course that he would have to kill Voldemort or be killed by him.  Being killed by Voldemort was no longer an option, not now that he had Hermione.  Before this summer he would have gladly died if he was sure to take Voldemort with him ... not now.  He would definitely have to find a way to kill Voldemort and survive; he thought he could live with that as long as he had Hermione.

It took Godric several seconds to get Harry's attention.  He was almost ready to think that Harry had petrified himself too.  After a brief discussion Harry grabbed onto Peter and Godric changed into Fawkes and flashed them over to Howard's office, chair and all.

Hermione and Howard had been discussing the advantages of using the top of a tower versus a lower dungeon and the tower top was starting to look good.  Sealing the single entrance and making the windows unbreakable was not difficult.  Adding anti-apparition and anti-portkey charms would then keep out everything except a Phoenix and a family House Elf.  Voldemort, if he ever got inside Camelot, would probably look in the dungeons first … if he even bothered to look for Pettigrew.

When Harry, Fawkes and Peter arrived Hermione and Howard went over the plan with them and they all joined hands allowing Fawkes to flash them all there at once.

The decision was soon done, the North Tower was the tallest and the room at the very tip had the most difficult access unless you could travel by Phoenix.  Harry and Hermione under the supervision of Fawkes beefed up the wards and filled the access stairway with large stone blocks held in place with an ancient cementing charm that Fawkes supplied.  The Castle spells they had learned from Rowena were already coming in handy.  When they were done the only way in was by Fawkes.  Family House Elves could also get in to check up on the prisoner, not that he needed feeding or anything, but to make sure he didn't somehow come back to life unnoticed... or go missing.  Magic, being magic, one never quite knows what might happen.

What with Remus' news, the _fidelius_ charm and Wormtail showing up, neither the teens nor the adults had the opportunity for lunch.  Howard had not been concerned about it at the time either, but now suggested they all follow him for a late lunch.  Guinevere and Dobby were part of the entourage and at Howard's suggestion of lunch, the two Elves disapparated together with a dainty 'Crack'.

There were moving and still pictures and portraits along the hallways and stairways they traversed from the North Tower and every once in a while Howard pointed out someone that he thought was particularly noteworthy.  Charlus Potter, though he didn't have any spectacles was the spitting image of James and Harry except for his eyes and messy hair which was brown.  Dorea on the other hand looked very much like Narcissa Malfoy, but with James and Harry's jet black hair.  Much younger versions of all four Founders of Hogwarts were in another portrait, though it was only a normal painting, they couldn't move or speak.

Once down to the Main floor, in the Entry hall, straight in from the main Castle doors were eight doors, side by side, arranged in four pairs.  Howard led them to those doors and through them into Camelot's Great Hall.  It was easily as big if not slightly bigger than the Great Hall at Hogwarts.  The ceiling was however, not enchanted like the one at Hogwarts, it was an ornate stone ceiling.  The basic layout divided the ceiling into dozens of squares each containing what, at Harry's first glance, appeared to be a unique design.  It took Hermione to recognize that each square contained a Rune and she could recognize enough of them to guess that they formed at least part of the protection wards for Camelot.

In the middle of the Hall was one single table where Anna was already sitting, waiting patiently for the six of them, well actually five plus a Red and Gold Phoenix that was perched on Harry's shoulder.

During the meal, the conversation turned to what happened that fateful Halloween night almost sixteen years ago.  Harry asked, "Is the house exactly the way my parents had it before they were killed?"

"What house?" was the first statement out of Howard's mouth and Remus had to let Howard and Anna into the secret.

Surprisingly enough, Anna answered him, "The house itself has been restored to the condition that your parents had it.  Mister Dumbledore was allowed to remove their personal effects and store them safely in Gringotts.  Some of the furniture needed to be replaced and a few ancient relics that they had borrowed from Camelot were returned here."

"Ancient relics?" queried Hermione.  "Do you remember what they were?"

"Yes of course my Lady, they were rare items belonging to the original Lord Gryffindor." Stated Anna.

"A Shield, a longbow and a gauntlet?" Hermione again questioned Anna.  Harry and Remus were now paying undivided attention to this conversation.  Fawkes had already left to return to Hogwarts and inform the Headmistress of the location of Voldemort's hideout that Godric had taken out of Peter's mind before he was petrified.

"We retrieved the longbow and gauntlet from the Library," responded Howard, "However, Mister Dumbledore insisted on taking the shield since it was found in your Nursery for some reason.  It had suffered some spell damage and Mister Dumbledore said he thought he knew someone who could repair it.  It never was returned, I fear it may now be lost."

Harry and Hermione looked at each other for several minutes saying nothing but exchanging thoughts and speculations.  Remus watched them both closely, having a very good idea what was going on and where it would lead he suggested, "Maybe we should look at the longbow and gauntlet first since they are here?"

After lunch Howard and Anna led them to The Armoury.  One would think from the name that it was an armament warehouse and in a way it was, though it was more a museum of old and ancient weapons and memorabilia.  Anna insisted on introducing the newcomers to the Gryffindor/Potter family history starting in the third century AD with a Tobias Gryffindor and his wife Aryan.  There was a painting on the wall showing the pair and a bust of Tobias supported with a metal mannequin like framework that held what remained of his armour and weapons.  When they arrived at Godric's portrait with his wife Gwyneth, there was only the bust with a supporting framework and a gauntlet holding a longbow.  Harry immediately started to do the revealing charms to identify a Horcrux and he spoke in Parseltongue causing Howard and Anna to jump back in shock.

Howard and Anna had of course heard of Parseltongue and believed it to be a dark language as did most Witches and Wizards.  They never expected to hear it spoken and certainly not by the young Lord Gryffindor of all people.

Harry's attempts to find a Horcrux were fruitless, however the two items did have some ancient charms on them that Remus helped identify.  The longbow was charmed for accuracy and the gauntlet was charmed for knockout punches and impermiability.  There were no dark curses at all.  When Harry explained his findings to Hermione and Remus they agreed that the shield that Dumbledore took needed to be found.  Harry was feeling despondent about the possibilities of finding out where Dumbledore had taken the shield until Hermione suggested it might be in the trunk of his parents' personal items that was left to him by Albus.  They had only gone through part of the top layer of memories and found James and Lilly's wands and had never opened the trunk since the summer.  Hermione knew that Harry had been a little apprehensive of tackling the task of sorting through his parents personal effects and she hadn't pushed him to do it.  Neither of them had considered the possibility of there being a horcrux in the trunk.  Then again, it had been speculated that Voldemort was at Godric's Hollow to make a Horcrux and maybe he did succeed.

After Hermione hinted strongly that they should go back to the school and search through the trunk Harry reminded her, "We are here for your birthday weekend ... with your parents ... we can look through the trunk on Monday when we return to school, I don't think it's going anywhere between now and then."  He then pulled her close and kissed her pouting lips.  Harry it seemed was being mister sensible and Hermione, at least on the surface, appeared to want to dash away and check out the trunk.  The confusing part for Harry was that he was now sensing happy emotions from Hermione that didn't seem to be from the kiss alone.  Harry metaphorically shook his head, thinking that even when you could read their thoughts and feelings, girls were still confusing.  He hadn't actually read her thoughts, just her feelings, if he had he would have known that she was anticipating that he would want to search the trunk immediately and she was willing to go along with him.  Whatever his reasons, Hermione was pleased that Harry wanted to stay here with her.

The group finished the Armoury tour, Howard and Anna were quite the history Professors, they would have put that old fart, Binns, to shame.  They at least made it sound interesting enough to want to remember.  The fact that it was the Potter family history helped too.  Remus made his excuses to leave saying that he would meet up with Dan and Emma Monday morning at the house.  Once in the office, Remus asked Howard to look after the kids and Hermione's parents before he slipped through Godric's portrait to Rowena's Common Room, then through the Hogwarts Library and off to the Headmistresses office.

The Potter, Granger group continued the Castle tour with Anna, a much more detailed tour than the teens had in that short afternoon about a month earlier.  After a quiet supper the tour continued with the outside grounds adjacent to the Castle until the daylight started to wane.  On their way back to the office, Anna invited the group to stay the night or as long as they wished in the Castle.  Dan and Emma looked excited at the prospect, never having actually stayed in a Castle before.

Dobby and Guinevere returned to the house to collect the group's clothing and personal items, bringing them to the two largest bedchambers in the Castle on the third floor.  While the two House Elves were moving their clothes the group talked for several hours and got better acquainted.  Arrangements were made for the Grangers to be included in Camelot's wards so they could properly find the Castle and enjoy the grounds by themselves.  Dan and Emma were welcomed to stay at the house or the Castle until their own house and Dental Practice were again available and safe.

That night, while Harry was using the loo, Hermione put on the pale blue Peek-a-Boo's that he had picked out the day before.  She was checking her appearance out in the full length mirror and adjusting the babydoll.  For all practical purposes there wasn't much point to the new knickers and cover-up other than giving her body a bluish tinge, she could see right through them.  Undoubtedly Harry would like them and she guessed that was the point.

She noticed that the cooler night air was causing her exposed nipples to swell and harden.  Suddenly, two recognizable hands appeared in the mirror.  Seeming to come out of nowhere, the attached arms gradually becoming visible as the hands reached around her from behind.  She welcomed his warm breath on the back of her neck as thumbs and forefingers gently took possession of her now diamond hard points.  "Oh Harry," she moaned as his invisibility cloak fell to the floor.  "What do you think?"

'Now there's a loaded question' he realized, he could sink or swim depending on his answer.  His problem was he wasn't really thinking, he couldn't, he was standing there with nothing but a 'hard on', exploring her breasts with his hands and kissing the back of her neck.  He shuffled even closer and pressed Prongs junior against her backside while leaning his head over to nibble at the pulse point on her neck.  She groaned and leaned her head over to give him better access to her neck and ear.  A smile on her face and in her heart, she could sense his excitement and enjoyment as his warm hands left her now tingling breasts and started roaming over her body producing fires and other erotic sensations in their wake.

 She didn't really want a repetition of last night, her Mum had quietly mentioned about things floating around in their room and Guinevere having to come in and stick everything down.  The cute little House Elf had come back in the morning and unstuck everything so they could get showered and dressed.  Hermione recalled that she had to unstick things this morning too and wondered why.  She had a vague recollection of Dobby popping into their room once or twice last night or early in the morning.  She didn't want to start messing with the wards at the house or at Camelot until she knew what was already there, in case she damaged something she didn't understand and thus couldn't repair.

Things were already starting to get out of hand, she could see their discarded clothing begin to twitch and move.  She had to slow things down even though he was causing such wonderful feelings and sensations throughout her body.  She slowly turned and regretfully pushed against his well muscled chest until he was at arm's length, hoping he would understand.  Hermione saw the disappointed look in his eyes and once a measure of sanity had returned to her brain she was able to explain her concerns to a now embarrassed, but understanding Harry.  They both had a chuckle at the realization that her parents knew what they had been up to.

Earlier today

Emma appreciated her daughter's candour and was extremely surprised at Harry's patience.  She didn't realize how well or how often they were appeasing each other's needs and desires by hand, mouth and tongue or how much disruption they had managed to cause in Gryffindor Tower.  Hermione had assured her Mother that they hadn't actually gone all the way ... yet.  For some reason she seemed to need to do that.  She did however neglect to mention how close she had come to discarding their virginity and consuming the full carnal pleasure of having Prongs junior buried deeply inside Miss Jane.

Returning to now

Harry had to wonder at her logic ... wearing what she was wearing and expecting him to behave himself.  She was testing every moral fibre of his being by just wearing those ... and then expecting him to ignore her.  He desperately wanted to wrap his lips and tongue around her protruding nipples until she begged for more and then plunge his tongue and face into Miss Jane, making her scream his name until she was incapable of feeling any more pleasure.

That was what he wanted to do!

That was what she wouldn't allow tonight!

And yet she wore that silky, slippery, see through, crotch less, nipple baring nightwear.   What was a fairly normal, for a Wizard, red blooded, English boy supposed to do while standing there, at arm's length from her, with Prongs junior pointed straight up at her face.  He closed his eyelids tightly ... then ... in a silly move, lowered his line of sight, he could see her scroll by on the inside of his eyelids, every curve, bump and dimple, until his vision reached those pale blue knickers.  He found he could count every curly brown hair in her bush through those marvellous knickers.  Realizing that, that vision wasn't helping, he raised his sight again only to find a bird's eye view of her areolae and nipples.  Even with his eyes closed he could visualize every pattern of lines, bumps and valleys, the exact shades and hues of pigment in that skin.  He knew them better than he knew his own fingerprints.  He was truly a lost cause ... lost in her magic ... the magic that was … Hermione.  Harry gave up and slowly opened his eyes.

Hermione could sense his feelings of helplessness and turmoil as well as his overpowering love.  As he had this summer when she knocked him off that park bench, having proclaimed their Love, he was again imitating a Muggle fireworks at Halloween, his magic radiating off his body.  She looked into the depths of those emerging emerald green pools he used for eyes.  Very gently, she entered his mind, curious about his thoughts.  Hermione's logical side knew she wasn't supposed to be there, they had promised each other after all ... she needed to know what was making his magic erupt.  She saw herself, in his mind's eye, the way He saw Her.  She was quite unprepared for what she saw ... the brilliance ... the beauty ... the grace ... the composition and the Love ... the desperate Love.  She started to cry, she never thought anyone could love her that much ... could see her as he saw her ... could need her ... as much as He ... needed Her.  She knew deep down that she had been holding back, yes, logically she knew that Harry's love for her was no joke.  Her own fears and frailties from a lifetime of heckles' and taunts by her peers had refused to allow her to release the full measure of her feelings for Him ... for Harry.  That blockade had only now ... disintegrated.  Somehow, from somewhere, a pair of thumbs reached her cheeks and gently swept away the tears, his hands cupped her face and they slowly drew together.  For the first time Hermione's magic began to sparkle and radiate from her lithe frame.  They remained that way for several minutes while maintaining eye contact.  Harry shuffled them over to the bed.  The covers sprang aside and somehow they found themselves lying, in bed, together, under the covers, completely consumed with each others feelings.


	52. Chapter 52 A New Life

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the books in the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling belong to the aforementioned J. K. Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

Not Another Author's Note:

1) Many thanks to thescribbler for his kind assistance with this chapter.

2) The _Nimbus lumens Amor_ is with permission of the author, originally from "Harry Potter and the Circles' End" by madscientist.

fanfiction./profile/8719

I am not necessarily following all the original properties of the inventor.

3) Since 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz' by L. Frank Baum, is in the public domain it shouldn't be a problem and it could be a lot of fun to redo it using HP characters. I have made a start at it, but would like to finish this story first, if it ever ends.

4) Halloween 1997 in the UK is not a full moon, however, for my purposes it needs to be.

**52 – A New Life**

In Greater Hangleton

Readers: _please keep in mind that Snape, The Order and H/Hr are not aware of the_

_goings__ on in Voldemort's lair except what Snape told Minerva back in chapter 45._

Voldemort collapsed again, a few short hours after having risen from the day's rest that was imposed on him because he had again collapsed the evening before. Bellatrix was at her wits end. She knew that the minds of Potter and The Dark Lord were connected somehow and she needed a way to break that connection. Potter had to go ... 'Kill Potter!' had to be their next motto, their next step in world domination. Potter has to die!

In Hogwarts

When Remus returned to the school he went straight to the Headmistresses office where he was fortunate to find both Moody and Minerva. Unfortunately they were arguing about how to proceed with Draco and his Mother.

Tonks had persuaded her Mother, Andromeda, to talk to her sister, Narcissa, about Draco and their disappearance. Nothing specific had been explained to either Draco or his Mother about how they were to vanish except that if it turned out to be a trick of Voldemort's to have the Order hide them, the Malfoy family line would vanish forever. Narcissa would be visited by Fawkes at eight o'clock this evening and be transported to a rendezvous with Draco and some others from the Order. She was to bring what she could carry and hide the rest securely

Now that Remus was here he could take one side or the other. He didn't, Remus had his own agenda for discussion. He reported on the state of things with Hermione's parents and was brought up to date on the findings in Oxford. Not much had changed except they did locate the DE's hideout and they didn't want to scare him away, so they hadn't made any move on him. Remus told them that Harry and Hermione wanted to accompany Tonks on Monday Morning so that it would look like the entire Granger family returning home. That confused Moody until he was let in on the secret that Harry was as much of a Metamorphmagus as Tonks except that Harry had no problem turning into animals too. That was when they were told that Harry did a magnificent imitation of Nagini and captured Peter Pettigrew this morning at the house. Both Mad-Eye and Minerva were in shock.

"For a simple birthday weekend away from this castle, they certainly attract a lot of trouble." Stated Minerva.

"They also accomplished their first _fidelius charm_," said Remus, "and only just in time to keep Peter from reporting their whereabouts." Minerva and Moody looked at each other ... only just realizing that neither knew where the Potters were ... except that they weren't here.

Remus laughed and handed Minerva a slip of parchment informing her of the secret. Mad-eye was also informed similarly with the same piece of parchment. The next thing Remus felt duty bound to inform them of was that Godric's shield could be another Horcrux and it might be in the trunk that Albus gave to Harry.

Mad-eye immediately suggested a search of the trunk. Remus knew that Harry would never permit that to happen. Minerva interrupted and spoke up, "Harry would NOT appreciate anyone going through James and Lilly's personal effects."

Remus then added, "He and Hermione said they would go through the trunk when they returned, besides the other ones were cursed in Parseltongue so there's not a lot you could do with it if you found it."

"I think Remus is right," said Minerva, "If it's amongst his parents personal items he could take exception to your search. I know you're not stupid, Alastor, you would never poke a sleeping dragon."

Remus started to snicker at the imagery and soon the three of them were laughing.

In Camelot (the night before)

Emma and Dan had seen a pulsating golden glow emanating through the connecting wall between the two bedchambers. In their concern they had rushed to the door of the adjacent room only to see the same pulsating aura flickering through that wall and door. Emma stepped back in fright while Dan flung the door open and stood there dumbfounded. Emma crept up beside her husband and watched in awe. The pulsating glow came from the teenage pair hovering above the stone floor near the far end of the room and could have been timed to the young couples' heartbeats for all they knew. Standing at the doorway they were often engulfed in the pulsating golden aura and in those moments both Dan and Emma could feel the Love and happiness their children were radiating. Their children ... yes ... they had come to think of Harry as one of theirs ... and a very special son he was too. He and he alone had been ultimately responsible for releasing their daughter from the exile she imposed on herself into the world of books.

The Grangers watched as their children seemed to float over to the bed. Something unseen threw back the covers and the teens floated horizontally mere inches over the bed. The covers floated back over them as they lay there in blissful peace.

The Grangers' were oblivious to the running footsteps that could be heard nearing the two bedchambers. Shortly Anna and Howard slowed to a cautious approach. Anna pulled Howard to a stop long before they reached the yellow aura and whispered to him, "I dare not approach and you must bring Emma to me ... here, quickly!"

Howard rushed forward and, breaking Emma from her self induced trance, indicated that she should follow him. Emma followed him back to Anna. Dan, slowly realizing that his wife was no longer beside him, looked around to find her conversing with Anna in whisper quiet tones.

Anna was a true history buff, she knew everything there was to know about the Potters, the Gryffindors and even Merlin's history. Every fact, every fiction and every speculation. Never having seen it, she recognized the pulsating yellow radiance for what it was. It was marvellously described and depicted in the tomes of history. Several early Gryffindors and Merlin himself had been noted as creating this aura known as the _Nimbus lumens Amor_. Prolific families sprang up from and around the people that glowed. There had been others throughout time, typically one or two couples every few hundred years. Many had been Muggles and couldn't see it for what it was.

Anna explained that it wouldn't always occur and only came up when the couple was particularly aware of the true depth of their partner's Love and affection. The most important point that Anna wanted to make and the reason that she stayed out of range of the glow itself is that ... any female bathed in the golden glow for long enough becomes extremely fertile. Anna wasn't aware of the reasons that Emma had only one child and simply wanted to warn her to be extra careful after having stood in the glow for an unknown time. Emma's eyes bugged out at the news and an expression of shock and incredulity was plainly apparent on her face and in her demeanour.

Dan and Emma had married in their early twenties and after they were married Emma never used any birth control precautions. No, it was not a Religious issue. They were trying to have children. Three or four years later with some medical, or as they thought at the time, magical, intervention, Hermione was finally conceived and born. Though they never went to the extreme lengths again that they used to conceive Hermione, they also never used any method to prevent a birth. Since, except for Hermione, Emma never became pregnant with all their attempts, she assumed she never would again. Emma also realized that this was the opportune time in her cycle … if anything was going to happen it would happen now or in the next few days. Emma realized that idea might well be dashed to hell now, as if an egg, dropped off a high cliff onto a rocky beach. How to tell Dan? How to find out for sure? If she got pregnant right away she would know for sure ... did she want to get pregnant this late in life? What about the child?

Emma started to regain her composure and continued to ask Anna pertinent questions about what she might expect if she were to have another child. The responses Emma received excited her, the baby would almost certainly be magical and as such would not be subject to the Muggle problems associated with older birth Mothers. The only fear would be from a faulty potion or some accident during pregnancy. If the birth mother remained healthy during pregnancy there should be no problem.

The golden aura had begun to weaken as the teens drifted off to sleep and wasn't penetrating through the walls any more. Emma's frame of mind was excited concern, she needed to talk to Dan and not get his hopes up to much in case she hadn't been in the glow long enough to make a difference. Anna believed that Emma had been there more than long enough, a minute was probably plenty, a hand full of seconds is all it would take to make a noticeable difference. In any case Dan had to know, he had to be told, she had to know what he wanted.

Once the show was more or less over, Howard closed the doors to Lord and Lady Gryffindors bedchamber and he and Anna left for their own rooms. Emma dragged Dan off to their room and sat him down in a chair opposite herself. Emma remembered every nuance and detail of her conversation with Anna and explained it all slowly and carefully to her husband making sure that he understood every incredible detail. Though it seemed to take only a few minutes for her and Anna's conversation, Emma spent over two hours making sure that Dan had a firm grasp of the predicament they were in. They had to make a calm and rational decision on a topic that was not really rational for either of them. Both had always hoped that Hermione would have a brother or sister, preferably closer to her own age, but none the less, they had both hoped for more children. Once they cut through the angst of trying to predict each other's objections and determined that their predicament was a blessing, Emma quickly donned her 'Naughty Schoolgirl' outfit and Dan put his Professor's smock on over his birthday suit.

Sunday Morning Sept 21 1997

Well, it was late morning, well past what the Hobbit's would term 'second Breakfast'. Hungry, the Grangers finally crawled out of bed and hobbled their way down to the Great Hall to find Anna and Hermione in a fast paced discussion. Harry was standing slightly back and away from the wild hand movements of the two ladies.

Anna had much earlier elaborated on the happenings of last night to the young couple and made them aware of what they were capable of causing. Hermione was incredibly upset that her parents had unwittingly been caught in the aura and was desperately trying to ascertain if there was a way to reverse the effects. The three of them had been to the Camelot Library as well as the one in Godric's Hollow and found only confirmation of Anna's story and no helpful information to negate the effects. They had returned to the Great Hall minutes before and were now speculating very animatedly on various unlikely possibilities.

Harry was first to notice Dan helping Emma walk in and he was happy to see the bright and cheery smiles on their faces. He cleared his throat, making as much noise as possible in hopes to gain the attention of Anna and Hermione. He succeeded and the room was deathly quiet for a few moments until the Grangers were upon them. Hermione started to apologize to her Mother and was only cut off when Emma swallowed her up in a loving hug. Dan and Emma's smiles were contagious to those who could see them. Harry and Anna responded with smiles of their own. Emma released her daughter and held her at arm's length. Hermione attempted to speak again but Emma's finger against her lips was faster.

"Tell me I'm pregnant!" said Emma in an excited voice. She and Dan had made love thrice last night and once more this morning. Emma was as giddy as a schoolgirl on Prom night and twice as nervous. What was her daughter going to think of her trying to get pregnant ... at her age.

Hermione blinked and stood there in complete shock reminding Harry of Missus Weasley when Hermione stated she was pregnant. Harry had been too out of it at that time, but Hermione had later shown him her memory of the event in the Pensieve. While they had agreed that the incident, over the summer was funny, at least in hindsight, this was anything but funny.

"You know how to do the spell, you've told me so a dozen times ... I want you to test me." Emma stated more emphatically.

Harry knew the spell too, Hermione had shown him how, and the charm was no big deal to do. He had practiced it on Hermione a hundred times, just for fun. Hermione was still standing there in complete disbelief. Harry reached over and placed his hand on Emma, just below her navel. Anna looked confused by Harry's hand placement, she couldn't think what he was attempting to do, he had used a wand yesterday in the Armoury and it never dawned on her to consider him capable of wandless magic. The faintest of pink glows appeared surrounding Emma's hips and waist. You could have knocked Hermione over with a feather.

A resounding "YES!" could be heard, in stereo, from both Dan and Emma as they turned and hugged each other while jumping up and down. The smiles on their faces could have lit the room.

"Congratulations Missus G." Harry screamed over their cheers as he picked up Hermione in a hug and spun her around a few times. Harry kissed her soundly before placing her on her feet, though he didn't let her go in case she was wobbly.

"Y ... y ... you mean you're n ... n ... not upset at us?" Hermione stammered in a shaky voice.

"Upset!" Dan nearly shouted, "Hell No! Your Mother damn near wore me out last night trying to make this little guy ... we couldn't be happier Pumpkin ... we couldn't be happier." Dan's voice trailed off to near silence as he ran out of breath. An ensuing four way hug developed and before Anna could get out of the way she was brought into the middle of it.

Howard walked in as the great hug was breaking up and everyone's smiles told him it was all good, he knew he would get an earful over the lunch that just appeared on the table. "Father," said Emma, "Please help me over to the table, I'm still sore in places that I only vaguely remember being sore in when we were on our honeymoon."

"Mother!" stated Hermione in a scandalous voice, all the men chuckled and Anna smiled briefly. "That's far too much information ... Eewwwwww!" Hermione had her arms wrapped tightly around herself and shivered from head to toe as she finished speaking.

Emma laughed, then said to her daughter, "You just wait honey ... you just wait." Emma nodded her head up and down as she spoke, a devious smile on her lips. Hermione found her seat beside Harry and immediately had to slap his hand away from her thigh. Harry laughed, his hand hurt, but it was funny. He knew she would be alright once she had a chance to organize her thoughts and settle down, right now she was a jumble of emotions and Harry thought that this might be a very new experience for Hermione. He didn't realize that she was often like this when he was lying in a bed in the Hospital Wing, hurt or injured. Most of the time she was so logical and methodical, but deep down she was a girl and a woman. Under the proper circumstances she could display all the emotional range of the gender, from tender love, through complete indifference to a towering, murderous rage and switch between them in the blink of an eye.

By the end of lunch Hermione was holding Harry's hand, she had already kissed the knuckles that she slapped earlier as an apology. She then told him that she wanted to read to him, from a book that she had brought over from the house yesterday. She invited her parents and their hosts to join them and left for their bedchamber. Howard and Anna had other things to do and begged off. When Emma whispered to Dan what story she thought Hermione wanted to read to Harry, Dan howled loud enough for the two teens that were now at the doors to look back in confusion.

Emma wanted to hear the story again and thought it might be more interesting from Hermione's point of view. Dan helped her up and through the Castle to Harry and Hermione's room. Emma was moving about a little easier now, she was recovering from the effects of the marathon love making ... slowly.

As the Grangers approached the Potters' room they could hear their daughter start the story.

She had already told Harry she was going to substitute the names of their friends where she could in the story, but just the ones that made sense to her. "I'll play Dorothy, The Wicked Witch of the West will be Belatrix LeStrange, The Cowardly Lion would be Neville, Harry, I think you'll have more fun as the Tin WoodMan and I'll make Albus the Wizard, Delores Umbridge will be the Wicked Witch of the East, Oh, I know, Draco can be the ScareCrow. I'll sort out the rest as we go."

Hermione read from the front cover. "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz ... by L. Frank Baum." She turned to look at Harry sitting on the bed beside her and glimpsed her parents through the open door. Putting down the book she waved them in and Harry also noticed them when he looked around. Harry waved his hand in front of him and a plush loveseat appeared for her parents.

"I swear I'll never get used to you two kids making things come and go like that." Dan said as he guided Emma into the seat.

"This is just a temporary spell 'Dad'." Said Harry, "In two or three hours it will sparkle and disappear."

"This effect that we stumbled into ..." Dan started to ask.

"Is quite permanent." Stated Harry.

"Okay then," said Emma as she turned to Dan, "We'll just have to do a little planning that we never had to do before. I wouldn't really mind another one after this one," she said to Dan, "So they won't be as lonely as Hermione was growing up."

Hermione choked on her mother's words and gasped out, "I was alright growing up!"

"Hermione dear," her Mother sighed, "You're alright now, both of you ... but ... both you and Harry had all kinds of insecurities to get over and other issues to deal with ... I'm ... I'm quite amazed that the pair of you aren't locked up in a mental hospital."

"Mother!" Hermione admonished, "You're the one that's a nut case for getting pregnant at your age ... and on purpose yet!"

"I talked to Anna last night after it happened," stated Emma in a quite tone, "She assured me that because of the circumstances the baby is almost guaranteed to be magical ... and thus not create any problems for me." Emma reiterated, "And magical babies always come out properly. That's what she said."

"Yes ... that's what we read this morning too." Added Hermione in a sombre tone.

"Hermione dear?" queried Harry, and she turned to look at him, "I think that we have determined that none of us is totally crazy ... we may all tip the scale a little, but we're not going to fall off. Please start the story again."

Hermione looked around at the three of them wondering if what Harry said was really true. She picked up the book and read the cover again. "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz ... by L. Frank Baum." She then opened the book and paged through to Chapter 1.

"Hermione lived in the midst of the great Kansas prairies, with Uncle Dan who was a farmer, and Aunt Emma, who was the farmer's wife. Their house was small ..."

The story continued for a while until.

"It was Crookshanks that made Hermione laugh, and saved her from growing as gray as her surroundings. Crookshanks was not gray, he was a little orange half kneazle, with long silky hair ... Oops ... well long hair anyway."

By the time she finished the story they were ready for a snack and tea. Guinevere seemed to sense the timing and showed up at that precise moment with a tray of four hot chocolates and some cookies that she left hovering between them. While the snack wasn't quite up to a Dentists' specifications ... they gave in and enjoyed.

After the tea, Dan and Emma got up to leave, and as they were walking out Hermione called after them, "Don't you guys do anything that I'm not supposed to do."

"Too late." Her Mother returned, "But I will ask you, young lady, to avoid doing what I just did ... at least until graduation. By that time this one should have popped out and you'll have a brother or sister to practice on." Both Hermione and Emma laughed, their husbands smiled. The Grangers returned to their room and Emma lay down, Dan joined her a minute later. They talked about how Hermione handled the news about the new baby and about their Dental Practice. Dan had opened the bottom buttons of her blouse and was tracing little circles on her still flat stomach with his fingers. Of course her stomach would stay flat for several months yet and then they could watch Emma grow larger and rounder until the new baby was born.

Hermione sighed, "This is going to be a year to remember," as she wrapped her arms around Harry's neck and leaned into him. His hands found their way under her top and around to her back, he loved the feel of her smooth warm skin under his fingers. She was beginning to melt from the touch of his strong fingers. They were causing those same burning, tingling sensations that she knew would soon disconnect her brain from her feelings if she didn't concentrate on what she needed to talk to him about.

Hermione started talking about what she found out about the _Nimbus lumens Amor_ and some of its properties which led them to talk about how it was created. Harry tried to explain his feelings and desires and how he became so lost in his love for her and he found that he couldn't really describe those feelings. Hermione stopped his rambling and told him that she had entered his mind last night, she apologized for the act of doing it, but she wasn't sorry for what she found. Being as lonely as him most of her life, though not physically battered, she had been mentally tortured by other kids from school and as a result turned to books. She knew her parents had loved her and she knew Harry Loved her, but never in her wildest imagination had she conceived of the love she found when she snuck into Harry's mind last night. The experience turned her concept of love upside down and inside out, allowing her to open herself up more and respond to him. Merlin had been right when he said that we had a unique connection that had not been seen since his first wife died, over fifteen hundred years ago.

Hermione finally quit talking and they remained sitting on the bed in each other's embrace, the pulse of the _Nimbus lumens Amor_ barely escaping the bounds of their bodies. They never noticed the loveseat in front of them crumble into sparkling dust and vanish.

In Greater Hangleton

Belatrix shook her head in disgust, this was getting ridiculous. She was walking her Master back from an early meeting to make plans for an attack on Hogwarts. Halloween this year would be a full Moon and a fitting night to end Potter's life. She rarely left her Master's side these days. Voldemort stumbled and fell, he didn't lose consciousness and collapse again, but Bella hurried him back to their rooms before any of the others could see him. She kept repeating her mantra to herself, 'Kill Potter!' and 'Potter has to die!' Bella started working on a large batch of Polyjuice Potion just in case.


	53. Chapter 53 Malfoy or Bust

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the books in the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling belong to the aforementioned J. K. Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

Not Another Author's Note:

Ladies & Gents,

I did have every intention of updating this story sooner than now.  The problem I am having is getting from here (well not exactly here, chapter 55 to be precise) to the scene that I have already written (temporarily identified as Chapter 666) in which Mouldyshorts dies.  No, there will not be 611 more chapters in between.  I have not yet determined a clear path between the 2 places.  Once I have, I can only hope that the words will flow.  Between now and then, look at the end of this chapter for some Author's names whose stories I have been enjoying recently.  Thank you for your patience.

**53 – Malfoy or Bust**

Sunday Evening In Camelot

Suppertime came, Dobby and Guinevere disturbed the musings of the Granger's and Potter's allowing them to get to the Great Hall for the last meal of the weekend.  During the meal Harry explained to Howard and Anna, the situation the Granger's were in and that Remus was expected to call for them on Monday and take them away for part of the day.  Howard suggested that since they were currently settled into Camelot they should stay here.  Anna promised that they and some others would keep them company from time to time and there would be more to see and do here than in the little house in the hollow.  Hermione promised that she and Harry would come by as often as possible, besides Hermione wanted to keep an eye on her crazy Mother.  Hermione promised herself that she was going to talk to Madam Pomfrey about her Mother's condition if for no other reason than to get a qualified opinion.

After supper Howard showed Dan and Harry the workshop and riding stables while Anna showed Emma and Hermione the Conservatory where there were several musical instruments and other amusements including games.  There was no tele or internet.  Across the hall from the conservatory was an exercise room with several magical contraptions that Anna had to explain.  Hermione and her Mum tried them all out just long enough to get the idea of how to work them, but of course her parents would need the assistance of magic to use them.  Anna explained that Guinevere could help the Grangers to use the equipment if she herself wasn't around and they left it at that returning to the Conservatory.

When the guys returned they stopped outside the Conservatory and listened to someone playing what Howard told them was a Grand Piano.  The music sounded a little odd with small interruptions and the occasional wrong sounding note.  Dan whispered to Harry that he thought it must be Hermione playing.  She had played quite well before she left for her first year at Hogwarts, but hadn't played since to his knowledge.  After Hermione finished the song, Anna showed her some spells to make the Piano play by itself.  When next the boys heard the music it sounded quite good and they prepared to come in and applaud the musician until Howard warned them that the Piano might be playing magically. 

Monday Morning

September 22 1997 AM

Harry awoke first and slowly opened his eyes.  The room was still quite dark although the first hints of daylight could be seen through the far window as a dull grey sky.  An ominous looking start to the day … although still early.  His eyes drifted down to the young lady that was snuggled in tight to him.  She was mostly obscured by a mop of frizzy brunette hair.  Her arms, legs and body were threaded around him in such a way as to make him think he was nothing more than a large hot water bottle for her convenience, and maybe he was ... sometimes.  Hermione wasn't one of those girls that wore the shortest shorts and skimpiest tops and constantly complained of being cold.  She normally wore sensible clothing and rarely complained of being cold … when she did feel the cold, he was usually cold as well.  On the other hand she had commented several times about how warm and cuddly he was even though he was a little lumpy in places, and she seldom wasted a chance to absorb some of the body heat he was radiating.  As she said, if he was giving it away anyway ... she had first dibs.

As breakfast wound down Harry and Hermione said their goodbyes to Dan and Emma.  The Grangers asked them to be careful this morning when they flushed out the bad Wizards that caused so much damage at home.  Harry, in all his gallantry, tried to assure Dan and Emma that he would do all in his powers to protect their little girl.  Hermione feigned throwing up at the 'little girl' part of Harry's speech and they all had a brief chuckle.

The teens got up and backed away from the table, Hermione looked at Harry for a moment, then transformed into Caledfwlch and landed gently on Harry's shoulder.  She nodded at her parents, spread her wings, flapped once and they were gone in a nearly blinding white flash appearing moments later in the Head's Common Room.  While Caledfwlch folded her wings into her sides they both spotted Dobby who appeared to be fidgety.

"You is both requested in the Headmistresses office as soon as you has returned." Stated Dobby.

"We'll go there in a minute," said Harry, "As soon as we put on our school robes."

"No, no, yous comes first ... they is all waiting for yous." Responded Dobby as he tried to pull Harry's hand towards the portrait hole.  Harry braced himself, resolute and unmoving; Caledfwlch then flashed the three of them, since Dobby was still trying to pull on Harry, to the Headmistresses Office.  Hermione had learned from Fawkes how to scout out a destination quickly in advance so she knew to appear in the far corner near Fawkes Perch and away from the crowd of Order members and Aurors that surrounded Minerva's desk.  A pair of nervous young Aurors were spooked at the flash of light as Harry, Caledfwlch and Dobby appeared almost silently in the office.  The young Aurors had their wands drawn and pointed as Dobby pushed out his own small hands towards them saying, "Yous will not hurt Master Harry and Miss Miney!"  The two Aurors were forced away and fell down, skidding along the floor until they crashed into a display case built into the far wall near the door.

"Calm down everyone!" Shouted Mad-Eye, "It's only the two 'late arrivals' that we've been waiting for and their crazy House Elf."  Before everyone had a chance to see the new arrivals, Caledfwlch had transformed back into Hermione and was standing nearly in front of Harry.

By the time the two Aurors were back on their feet Harry had thanked Dobby and sent him to look out for Dan and Emma.  Harry stayed silent and considered his position, how was he supposed to keep his promise to her parents if she was going to jump into the line of fire.  Logically, if he was logical, he knew of course that she could take care of herself.  To his way of thinking, he had promised to take care of her ... he was going to have to resolve this issue, either with himself … or with her.

This get together turned out to be the briefing to operation 'Granger House' that would take place in about an hour.  Once the plan was explained by Alastor and Remus, there was some confusion about Harry using Polyjuice Potion and where was the potion.  No one it seemed had deemed it necessary to say that they now had two Metamorphmagi in the ranks, Tonks and Harry.  Hermione stood between Harry and Tonks, or rather they moved to either side of her, then they transformed into Dan and Emma for all to see.  Tonks was just a tad faster at transforming than Harry and when she pointed it out he said she should have told him it was a race.

Tonks and Shacklebolt had a Ministry car that looked like a Muggle Taxi.  The plan was that Kingsley would drive the faux Grangers up to the house and drop them off as if they were returning from the airport or such like.  He would wait outside for a few minutes allowing his passengers to enter the house and connect with the two order members that were already inside.  Professor Molly Weasley and Hestia Jones were hiding inside using a disillusionment charm.  They had entered over the weekend when the other Order members and Aurors were there investigating the disruption and had never left.  Over two dozen Order members and Aurors would be disillusioned or under invisibility cloaks and be hiding in the neighbours yards or disguised and approaching on the street.  The Ministry had two teams of Obliviators on standby for the operation.  The hope was that the lone DE, who they knew was Markus Flint, would have some way to alert Voldemort and they could capture or kill a good number of Death Eaters.  There were ten portkeys in the house, five would take you to safe house near the Ministry and the other five would take you to Saint Mungo's.

In Minerva's office, everyone was ready and Moody passed out several portkeys to take the groups to various destinations within a few blocks of the Granger home.  Seconds later the groups began to leave.  Harry and Hermione went with Shacklebolt and Tonks to a place where they had parked the Ministry car that looked like a taxi.  Some groups, hiding under disillusionment charms landed in neighbouring yards, others landed behind cover as far as a few blocks away and began slow walks towards the Granger home, while waiting for something to happen.

As soon as the Taxi pulled into the Granger driveway Flint was wide awake.  Tonks, looking exactly like Emma, whispered to Dan Harry and Hermione that they had just tripped a local alarm jinx so Flint knew they were here and he was probably watching very closely.  Hermione passed the front door key to Tonks who looked at it curiously until Dan Harry explained what it was.  Tonks nodded as if just clueing in while Dan Harry reached over saying, "Maybe I should have the key, it would look more normal for me to open the door for you ladies?"  Tonks and Hermione snickered for a moment and Tonks handed Dan Harry the key.  They had now remained in the Taxi long enough to have paid the driver and proceeded to extricate themselves.

At the front door of the house Dan put the key in the lock and twisted his wrist while Hermione and Emma appeared to be looking around the yard.  Tonks had told them where Flint was hiding and as they looked around they could see an occasional glint of reflected light from that location several houses away.  Tonks thought he might be using an omniocular like Harry bought at the Quidditch World Cup to record what was just happening.  If he had the recording device charmed as a portkey to return to Voldemort then they would know soon enough.

Once inside the house Dan still Harry proceeded to lock all the doors and windows with his patented locking charm that had bamboozled everyone so far.  Meanwhile Hermione, Molly, Tonks and Hestia were discussing strategy and tactics.  They had all disillusioned themselves including Dan Harry.  During the discussion, Hermione found out that Dobby had removed anything he thought might be of value and replaced it with magical copies.  Hermione was now less worried about the house being destroyed than she had been.

About five minutes after the three arrived at the house they started to hear multiple popping noises at close proximity that sounded like a brief burst of machine gun fire.  A few seconds later flashes of multicoloured light could be seen through the windows along with the shouts of spells and minor explosions.  The four Witches and a Wizard inside the house made sure they had their portkeys in their pockets and scattered themselves around the main floor so they wouldn't make a single target for anyone who got inside.  It didn't take long for a hole to be blown in the back wall, probably a _bombarda_ or _reducto_ spell that missed its intended target.  The sounds of spells, yelling and screams of pain were instantly louder and suddenly a horde of Death Eaters were trying to climb in through the new opening.

While the Witches sent bone breakers, _reductos_ and disarming spells at the Death Eaters, Harry, as Dan, removed his disillusionment charm and stood to draw their attention away from his friends.  Between Harry's shields and blocks he managed to do some human transfiguration spells changing the Death Eaters hands and arms into animal paws, legs and wings that were incapable of holding wands.  More and more Death Eaters piled through the hole in the wall.  Inside the house, Hestia was the first Light Witch to be taken out of the fight and Harry didn't recognize the yellow-orange beam that hit her.  Molly was next to go down which threw Harry for a moment, and that was long enough for him to be hit with a spell from Bellatrix who immediately vanished in the blue blur of a portkey as a spell from Tonks passed through the spot she had been.  Hermione immediately stood up, dropping her wand, and raised her hands above her head clapping them together.  The sound of the hand clap was drowned out by a shockwave of magical energy that knocked everyone inside, except herself, unconscious and blew out all the doors and windows that Harry had so carefully locked.  The glass and wood debris that the concussion created cut into a dozen or more DEs that were still outside, dropping a few of them and the rest vanished by apparition or portkey a moment later ending the bulk of the spell fire outside.

Hermione rushed over to an unconscious Harry who was bleeding profusely from several locations.  Hermione activated his St. Mungo's portkey and then checked on the others.  Tonks had been knocked out by Hermione's blast, but responded to an _enervate_ charm, she also sent Hestia and Molly to St. Mungo's.  Before Tonks could stop her, Hermione activated her St. Mungo's portkey to be near Harry.

Nobody had bothered mentioning to her, and if Hermione had waited a moment to hear what Tonks was going to tell her she would have found out.  Hermione arrived directly onto a bed in the Emergency ward at St. Mungo's and as soon as she appeared she was hit with a stasis spell.  The stasis spell was intended to be temporary so that the healers and staff could ascertain the patient's injuries and determine a course of action.  Visitors and others were supposed to walk in through the door and not use the Emergency Portkey that would place them directly onto a bed next to waiting healers.

Harry felt Hermione's presence for the briefest of moments along with a sudden burst of fear and panic.  He knew she was nearby … but not what had happened.  The Healers were just about done with him and he jumped up and off the bed, amidst shouts from the healers he began running in the direction he had seen others being wheeled in from.  As he neared he could see Hermione lying motionless on a bed with three Healers hovering over her.

The stasis spell that the Healers used suspended most body functions though it kept the persons mind awake.  She could move her eyes and think, but nothing more.  Hermione hadn't seen Harry but she could feel his concerned mind nearby.  Her panic was quickly swept away when Harry's thought entered her mind.  They began legilimizing each other until Harry understood that she was not hurt.  She then began to try to think herself out of this jam before the Healers had a chance to do something unnecessary.

Harry quickly spoke to the Healers, and after telling them that Hermione was his wife and she was not hurt, he finally convinced them to release her from stasis.  Just as the Senior Healer was about to release Hermione, she glowed bright orange from head to foot and released herself from the spell.  It had taken her a few minutes while Harry convinced the Healers, to figure out exactly how to do it, but she did, and now it was their turn to stare in surprise.  Never had the Senior Healer seen a patient break that stasis spell before.  She slid off the bed and stood in front of Harry and then began checking him over from head to toe.  She banished the remaining blood stains and repaired his clothes with such efficiency that the Healers were quite amazed.

The Healer that had been chasing Harry since he left his bed had finally caught up and was carrying a tray of three potions for Harry.  His injuries and spell damage had been magically healed from the outside and the potions would finish the cure from the inside.

Just before Harry, Hermione and Remus left St. Mungo's they saw Markus Flint being hovered past them on a gurney with very blood soaked sheets.  The young Death Eater, it turned out, had been approaching the front picture window of the house when it blew out.  All of the Order members had initially been stationed between windows and doors to minimize the possibility of being attacked from behind.  When the house blew out, a few of them that were out of position were injured and Hermione had talked to those she could and apologized.

It was lunch time when the kids returned to Hogwarts.  They had taken Remus to see her parents, who again were very relieved to know that everyone they cared about was alright.  In the telling of the tale to Dan and Emma there were a few details left out such as Harry having to go to St. Mungo's and Hermione nearly destroying the house.  The fact that there was currently a team of six Ministry Wizards and Order members on site trying to repair the house was also left unspoken.  Because of the way that Harry sealed the doors and windows, when they blew out, part of the adjacent walls went with them.  If a City Building Inspector had seen what was left, the first floor was more holes than wall; the devastated home would have been condemned in an instant.

Remus had taken Dan and Emma to sort out the details of spreading their patients out to other dentists and arranging a phone line and computer for their receptionist to work from home, so that she would be able to advise patients of their re-arranged appointments and doctors.  The Grangers had also arranged between Remus and some other Dentists to use their offices in the evenings and some weekends to alleviate the overload they were creating.

The afternoon classes passed quickly with only a few curious questions about where they had been over the weekend.  Their explanation was intentionally vague since they couldn't tell anyone about Godric's Hollow due to the '_fidelius charm_'.  There were a few winks, nods and cat calls when some of the Gryffindor sixth and seventh year students found out it had been Hermione's birthday.

There meeting with Draco and Narcissa was quickly approaching and the teens were putting the final touches to the plans for that meeting.  They were in Rowena's Common Room in the Restricted Section of the Library.  Salazar, Helga and Godric were all present along with Rowena Remus and Minerva.  The four Founders would continue to instruct Draco in the magical subjects he was currently taking.  They would also do the same for Daphne when she arrived in a few weeks.  The students would have to take on the more modern portions of History of Magic by themselves.  Salazar had promised to clear up the common misconceptions of today about what Slytherin House should actually stand for.  Although Salazar still had a predisposition for Pure-Bloods, he had realized over the passing centuries that it was not contributing to a healthy society.  All the radical Dark Lords that emerged from Slytherin House, while they preached his ancient words, were not accomplishing his intentions.  Salazar had never intended the Blood Wars that people like Grindelwald, Riddle and others before them, were attempting.  The Blood Wars were in fact very counter productive as there were now, in proportion, far fewer supposed Pure Bloods around than Half-bloods and Muggleborns, at least in England.

A few minutes before eight Harry pulled out The Marauders Map, opened it up, and repeated the incantation for perhaps the thousandth time 'I solemnly swear I'm up to no good'.  The map started filling in as it always did and they could all see that Draco Malfoy was approaching the same unused classroom where they had last met him.  Looking a little further a field they spotted Parkinson, Crabbe and Goyle keeping track of Draco.  The interesting part was when Hermione spotted Blaise Zabini and Daphne Greengrass, watching the watchers.  The teens knew that Daphne was in on the plan because she had met with Minerva during the weekend and set up the plans for her and her parents to disappear.  She was naturally concerned about Draco being caught, she knew Pansy was suspicious that something was going on and Draco was obviously nervous.

Rowena and Hermione conferred for a moment before Hermione transformed and vanished in a flash of white light.  Caledfwlch appeared behind Draco, transformed back into Hermione and then cast the charms that she and Rowena had discussed to alter the hallway and keep the watchers from following Draco.  Draco had heard the soft pop and saw a reflection of the flash of light, he turned quickly to see Hermione finish transforming from something.  He relaxed after he saw the results of the magic she performed.  Draco knew he was being followed and although curious as to how Potter's Mudblood was doing it, he was impressed to see the large stone blocks rearrange themselves to block off the hallway.

Once the blocks had stopped moving, Hermione, looking as menacing as she could manage, turned to face Draco.  "I'm guessing it's time for you to disappear." She said with a smirk.  "give me a bit of your hair."

"What!  You're crazy, what do you need that for?" Shouted Draco.

There's no time for this crap, Hermione thought, she suspended him in the air by his right heel then grabbed a handful of his silvery blonde hair and yanked.  "Oowwwww!  You Mudblood Bitch, I'll kill you for this."  Draco yelled while grabbing his scalp where the hair was pulled from.

"Nooooo … You'll thank me in the morning." Hermione cooed.  Draco watched as she turned the handful of his hair into … another live Draco, Draco II … still no wand, but with a full head of hair and a sore head.  The original Draco was extremely impressed with her human transfiguration skills … Draco II was even badmouthing her already.  This kind of transfiguration didn't usually last long, McGonagall could make it last … a day … two at the most.

Harry had been changing walls and hallways from inside Rowena's Common Room, leading the watchers and their watchers around in circles.  Hermione and Draco, and the others were almost directly below where he thought he was, assuming where he was, was adjacent to the Library.  Harry felt a drain on his magic and saw on the map that Hermione had created a second Draco and a minute later it looked like Draco II was sprawled out dead on the floor.  Harry assumed the plan was for Pansy and her goons to stumble across the dead Draco II.  Slughorn and Flitwick were also walking a patrol on the same floor.  Harry again rearranged the walls and hallways to bring Pansy's group to Draco II first and the two Professors there moments later.  The dead Draco copy would mask the original's disappearance for a few days and create some excitement of its own.

Hermione had slowly backed away from the ranting Draco copy while taking the real Draco down the hall to the door of the same classroom they had used a few days ago.  Hermione slipped Draco into the classroom and just before she followed him in, she sent a strong _reducto_ curse at Draco II's chest.  The chest imploded into a bloody mass of muscle and tissue and with a shocked expression on his face, the body of Draco II collapsed into a messy heap on the floor.  Hermione slipped into the classroom, sealing and silencing the door just as Pansy, Vincent and Gregory came around the corner and saw what remained of Draco II in the hallway.

Inside the classroom the original Draco was still hanging from his right heel, holding his head where his hair was missing and swearing at Hermione in the best traditions of the Royal Navy, even though he had little idea what a Navy was.  Hermione conjured a mattress underneath him and even let him down gently … well, more gently than Harry had the previous week.

In the hallway the three 'evil' Slytherins were now standing over the transfigured hair that appeared to be the body of Draco discussing what to do as the two Professors came upon them.  From the other end of the hallway, cutting off any escape, Blaise and Daphne came around the corner.  "Draco!" Daphne shrieked, Blaise had a solid hold on her before she could run towards the body on the floor.

In a split second everyone had their wands out and pointing at the others.  Daphne was felled before she or Blaise could put up any kind of shield.  Flitwick shielded against two curses, then between him and Blaise four stunners intersected with the three Slytherins caught between them.  Horace Slughorn as it turned out was of no use in a fight unless he had some bottles of potion with him that he could throw.  He tried to hide behind Flitwick at the first sign of trouble.  It was like Dudley trying to hide behind Aunt Petunia, a rather futile effort.

BONUS STUFF:

Rather than a larger list of story names, I'll give you the Author's names.  Just copy them into Google and click 'search', they may be on Portkey dot org or fanfiction dot net:

old-crow          616007 ffn  
Rihann             28624 portkey  
Harry85           4376 portkey  
witowsmp       24208 portkey  
Seel'vor           1330896 ffn  
Paladeus          1110582 ffn  
librarywitch     1386960 ffn  
Lancelot47      1483757 ffn  
coolone007-2 241778 ffn


	54. Chapter 54 Thinning the Herd

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the books in the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling belong to the aforementioned J. K. Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

WARNING: I am going to butcher some more Arthurian legend.

**54 – Thinning the Herd**

While the Professors attempted to sort out the mess in the middle of the hallway, Blaise picked up Daphne and raced her to the Hospital Wing. In a classroom down the hall, Hermione placed a silencing charm on Draco when she tired of his whining. Harry arrived in the hallway in time to assist the Professors by taking the mess that was Draco II, over to the Hospital Wing so Madam Pomfrey could officially pronounce it dead or whatever she did in these cases. Once there, Harry took Poppy aside and quietly explained to her exactly what the corpse that looked like Draco was … well, she had to know. Some diagnostic charms she might attempt on it could revert it back to a clump of hair. Harry was quite impressed with Hermione's human transfiguration since they hadn't gone past hands, feet and arms in class. Then again, she always did read ahead. Harry would have explained to Daphne, but Poppy had already given her a dreamless sleep potion and Blaise was still sitting beside her.

Minerva of course had seen exactly what happened, she had been watching over Harry's shoulder in amazement as the events unfolded. She had seen walls move and corridors change direction, things that she knew were possible, but had never actually witnessed before. Once the action was over, she excused herself and made her way directly to her office from the Library, all the while muttering under her breath in absolute amazement. Dumbledore had, over the years, tutored his deputy in the Castle Wards and most of the other magic pertaining to Hogwarts Castle, the Grounds, the Black Lake and the Forbidden Forest. He could not however teach her things that he himself did not know or could not do. And then there was Harry Potter … he was moving walls by dragging his finger over a map of the Castle and clearing them back to normal with a wave of his hand. She suspected the map was just a prop he used for a visual reference, she had seen it before, or one very much like it in the hands of Sirius and James when they were at school. She had even taken it away from them several times, and when trying to activate it got nothing but insults back. She knew that Argus Filch had finally confiscated it one night when he caught Sirius and a Gryffindor sixth year Prefect on the top of the Astronomy Tower, both less than half clothed and well after midnight. The pair had been too busy paying attention to each other to watch the map, and thus, were caught bare handed … and then some.

The Headmistress quickly made it back to her office and sat, she knew it would still be several minutes before she was to be interrupted. Minerva's muttering and thoughts were predictably interrupted by a knock on her office door. As she beckoned them to enter her mind was trying to work out how to deal with them. The evidence of Draco II's body would never last long enough to get the case to court, but maybe she could find out something she could use to expel these Slytherins and get them out of the Castle for good.

Minerva floo'd the DMLE and requested that Aurors attend Hogwarts immediately since there had been an apparent student death. Filius handed Minerva the students' wands and sat the three miscreants down to await the arrival of the Aurors. Professor Slughorn had opted out, based on what he thought had happened, he didn't feel he could defend these student's actions against an unarmed student. Five minutes later Shacklebolt, Tonks and Robards stepped through the floo directly into Minerva's office. The three Aurors recognized the students by their names as being part of Death Eater families. Each Auror was given a students wand to check and they didn't have to revert back more than a dozen spells before unforgivables were found on each wand. The reductos and cutting curses used to attack the two Professors and the students in the corridor were the most recent ones found in the wands. Potentially deadly spells all of them and based on the description of Draco II's corpse, it had been a very powerful _reducto_ or more than one, that killed him.

The three students were taken away to holding cells at the Ministry both for killing Draco and for using unforgivable spells. The Aurors had wizard photos of Draco II's body and the corridor where it was found as well as memories from the two Professors and Blaise for evidence. For some reason that surprised her, Poppy was never asked for a Death Certificate though she was asked about the cause of death.

During the meeting in Minerva's office, Harry met Remus and Narcissa outside the Hogwarts gates and called for Fawkes. Fawkes flashed the three of them directly to the hallway outside the second floor classroom. Hermione sensed Harry's arrival and wandlessly opened the door, she was sitting on the teacher's desk watching a silenced Draco who's feet were stuck to the floor, rant and probably swear at her, she turned to look at the group as they entered. Remus was the last one in and closed the door behind him. Harry turned back and sealed the door again then verified the silencing charm that kept their conversations from escaping to the wrong ears. Narcissa Malfoy rushed up to her son and hugged him then turned to Hermione seething in anger. Part of the deal that was worked out ahead of this meeting included that Remus had Narcissa's wand and Harry had Draco's. Hermione then removed the silencing charm from Draco and covered her ears expecting a noisy backwash. She was not disappointed, even Narcissa looked at her son with concern.

Once Draco calmed down under his Mother's icy glare, Hermione went over the next step of the plan which was to get them to safety. Narcissa asked again about the tutoring for Draco, fully believing it would be second rate. The two Malfoy's still had not been told they would be in the care of all four founders or exactly how and where they would be hidden. Remus grinned, but the teens still would not divulge the details except to say that Daphne Greengrass and her family would be joining them soon.

"If we don't like your arrangements we can return … right?" asked Narcissa.

"Absolutely!" responded Hermione, "But … if you leave … and you are most certainly free to do so, the deal is broken, you will be obliviated, and you'll be, as you are now, on your own."

"If … however … you stick it out … until Voldemort is dead," both Malfoy's flinched at the name, "You will retain your memories and be able to return to your lives in relative safety." Stated Harry.

"Let's get on with it!" stated Draco. He was starting to get annoyed with all the chit chat.

"Fawkes." called Harry. A small flash of red flame preceded the large red and gold bird that was now winging around the classroom. Harry held out his arm for Fawkes to land on and once the bird was perched, he and Harry had a brief, silent, conversation.

"Draco … Missus Malfoy … Hermione, Remus, take my hands and we will travel to the entry point of the sanctuary." Fawkes hopped up to Harry's shoulder and waited patiently. Draco and Narcissa looked incredulously at Harry, then Hermione and back to Harry as if to say, 'we have to touch you?'

Harry sighed and shook his head slightly sideways in exasperation before nodding it up and down. This was quickly becoming annoying and, truth be told, he would just as soon leave the Malfoy's to whatever fate awaited them. On the other hand, Dumbledore did say they could be useful later on … and that was the only reason he was putting up with this at all. A little bit of Wizard's Debt could go a long way so long as it was Malfoy owing him and not the other way around.

After a minute they were all holding hands … if the grimace on Draco's face was any indication, he must have been in immense pain to hold Hermione's hand, Narcissa was holding Harry's hand. They flashed directly into the back corner of Hogwarts Library's Restricted Section and directly in front of the portrait of Rowena Ravenclaw. Rowena was, as usual, standing there in her portrait, waiting for them just as she had always been every time they came.

Harry blinked at the portrait sending a small pulse of magic towards it, Rowena awakened and stepped forward greeting Harry and Hermione. "Lord and Lady Gryffindor, a pleasure to see you both again so soon … are these the two who seek the safety of the Keep?" Rowena said as she looked over the Mother and son. Harry nodded his head and Rowena spoke again. "A final word of warning Missus Malfoy, Mister Malfoy, if you harbour any ill intentions towards this school, its teachers or its students … you will not reappear on the other side of this entrance … you will be lost forever. The effect I believe will be similar to going through the Veil in the Death Chamber of the Department of Mysteries. The process is not painful … you simply cease to exist … do you wish to proceed?"

Mother and son backed away and conversed in whispers for a minute or more, then stepped forward. Narcissa stated, "We have no intention of betraying the school … some of the staff and students we do not personally care for, however we have no intentions of hurting anyone. We simply wish to see the Dark Lord defeated and survive this mess. Does that qualify for safe passage?"

"So long as you both truly believe that statement, you'll be fine." Responded Rowena. "What is in your mind is more important than what you say. The magic you will pass through is similar to that of the Sorting Hat, it looks into your mind for the truth."

They joined hands in single file as Harry indicated and Hermione led them through the portrait right behind Rowena. Harry came through last after Remus and was actually surprised to see that both Draco and Narcissa had actually made it through. After all the trouble that Draco and the Malfoy's had caused over the years, Harry had almost hoped that they would not make it through the portrait … damn.

They all followed Rowena to the waiting table and once seated Draco and his Mother noticed there were four extra chairs. Narcissa began with a few pertinent questions to confirm that this was indeed their final destination and Rowena confirmed that it was. Narcissa's next concern was her sons education, the fact that Rowena Ravenclaw was here assuaged her concerns somewhat. Rowena responded by flicking her recently reacquired wand in the direction of the portraits of the other three founders and Merlin. It took from a few seconds to a minute for the Founders and Merlin to step out of their respective portraits. Within minutes everyone was sitting at Rowena's 'Round Table'.

A tea service trolley had appeared and followed Merlin over to the table. While the tea poured itself into cups that eventually climbed onto saucers, the sugar and cream had already walked off the tea cart onto the table where they wandered around on short little legs. The now full tea cups and saucers followed the cream and sugar onto the table and positioned themselves in front of each person.

The Malfoy's had come out of their state of shock as the tea distributed itself and Narcissa and Draco started looking around the room. There was a wall of bookshelves, full to overflowing, opposite that there was a warm fireplace and plenty of comfortable chairs as well as a large plush sofa. The wall they entered from had paintings of each founder and Merlin, all life size and narrow as was Rowena's that they came through. The far wall had a collection of weapons mounted on it and two suits of armour standing between two doorways.

Since this was the first time in many hundreds of years that Helga had been out of her portrait, introductions were made all around and the Founders did a little catching up amongst themselves. Narcissa seemed to take the proceedings in stride, she was actually quite impressed with the level of magic involved in creating this experience as well as being slightly amused by the interactions of the ancient Wizards and Witches. Draco on the other hand was quite impatient and used to being the centre piece of any crowd. His impatience got the better of him and Draco spoke up only to be immediately silenced by a thump of Salazar's Staff.

"Young Man, and I use the term 'Man' loosely," voiced Salazar in strong clear Olde English, "You may think that you are the Prince of Slytherin House," he hissed, " … But … I am the King! You will treat your elders," and he motioned with his hands presumably to indicate all those at the table except Draco, though Draco didn't think he meant to include the Scarhead and his Mudblood, but he wasn't sure, "with the respect that they're due and respond only when spoken to … unless you think you can better me in a fight!" Godric chuckled, Remus and Merlin smiled while Rowena and Helga shook their heads almost imperceptively. Harry and Hermione's happiness increased quite noticeably in each others minds although they tried very hard not to show it to the others around the table by hiding their smiles behind their tea cups. Their happy, sparkling eyes gave it all away to any who were observant enough to notice.

"Your Father and his friends are misguided … they are nothing but sheep following a madman … a brilliant, but misguided fool who unfortunately happens to be distantly related to me. The Father of young Tom Riddle hurt him badly by abandoning him and his Mother, and she did him no favours by passing on the inbred insanity of her family, the Gaunts. Their collective stupidity has all but wiped out the Slytherin blood line. I have made a lot of mistakes in my life and those mistakes have brought us to where we are now," Salazar's voice grew louder as his spiel progressed until he was yelling as he said, " … another Blood War!"

Draco was definitely looking scared, he had always thought he was a proper Slytherin and following in the footsteps of his Father and Salazar. Narcissa was looking at Salazar in surprise. While she wasn't as fanatical about Blood Purity as her husband, Lucius; she was brought up as a member of the Black family to believe that she was better than those with 'impure' blood.

Helga put her hand on Salazar's shoulder and he turned to look at her. She usually sat beside him because she could make him see the light of reason and calm him down. Salazar had been in a terrible row with Godric once, about a thousand years ago, when she had been away and Salazar had left Hogwarts. It had taken Helga almost a year to track him down after that and several meetings to convince him to come back. Unfortunately he had almost died before making it back and the only thing Rowena and Helga could do to preserve him was to put his essence into a painting. He was the first of the four Founders to become a living portrait.

The conversation went on for hours between the Founders, the Malfoys, the Potters and Remus … Minerva even stopped by for a few minutes to check up on them all. The two doors on the far wall turned out to be the dormitory entrances, boys on the left and girls on the right. There were no trick staircases however. Since they were Mother and son, the pair were given the option of sharing accommodations if they wished. Draco's trunk was already in the boys' dormitory and Narcissa's trunk was currently on the girl's side, however they did not need to remain so.

*************************

Later, in the Head Student's bedroom

Harry was spooned into Hermione with his arms wrapped around her and his lips nibbling on the back of her neck. Hermione was holding on to his hands to keep him from distracting her train of thought … too much. They were in fact both going over the last few hours in their minds and how things had worked out reasonably well. Minerva had told them about Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle's wands showing the use of unforgivable curses and their being taken away to face charges for that as well as Draco's apparent death. The charge of killing Draco would eventually be dropped for lack of specific evidence, however the use of unforgivables was enough to keep them in Azkaban for the rest of their lives … unless of course Voldemort won the war.

Finally Hermione gave up her struggle and released Harry's hands allowing them to come up and cup her breasts. Hermione purred in contentment as the flames from his touch warmed her to the core. She wiggled her bum into his crotch causing him to groan and nip a little harder on her neck.

*************************

Tuesday morning September 23, 1997

Rumours and speculation were in abundance during breakfast until the Headmistress made her announcement regarding the five missing students. Four students were gone and Daphne had been injured trying to stop an attack on one of them. She would most likely return to classes sometime today.

Hermione talked Harry into going to the Hospital Wing with her to see Daphne and explain what had actually happened the evening before. Daphne would have awakened by now from the dreamless sleep potion and would be very upset to remember seeing the Draco look alike lying dead in the hallway. Fortunately Blaise wasn't there when they arrived and Daphne didn't ask specific questions as to how the ruse was engineered. Daphne realized very quickly that she would have to play along with the cover story or Blaise for one would get very suspicious.

Classes carried on as usual for the next day and a half until the remains of Draco II returned to being a handful of burned and crispy platinum blonde hair that was put in a specimen jar in Poppy's office.

*************************

Wednesday evening September 24, 1997

After supper, with their homework done, Hermione had plunked herself down on the sofa with her favourite book, 'Hogwarts; A History'. She knew Harry would join her as soon as he put his books away and he would be far more interested in her body language than actually reading a book. Although she had no arguments with his ideas of recreation she was planning on attacking his Father's trunk tonight to look for the shield.

No sooner had she flipped to the next page when she felt a warm breath in her hair as warm hands settled onto her shoulders migrating down her arms. She recognized this ploy and dutifully reached up and behind her to grasp his shoulders He allowed himself to be pulled over the back of the sofa and land gently with his head in her lap looking up at her beautiful smile. No sooner had she looked down at him than she lost herself in those expressive pools of emerald green that he used for eyes. She couldn't break their eye contact for what seemed ages until Harry blinked and she was able to look away. Harry himself had been deeply engrossed in a pair of milk chocolate brown eyes that looked ravenous, betraying their owner's insatiable desire to gobble him up.

"Come on lover, let's look for Gryffindor's Shield … we've put it off long enough." Sighed Hermione, "Once we find it, then we can relax and play." A wide grin spread across Harry's face as he rolled over and got up giving Hermione a hand up also. Hermione both grinned and grimaced as she felt all the heat and moisture in her body begin to pool between her legs in anticipation … damn that green eyed boy and her reactions to him! She used to be so calm, organized and under control … now she was antsy, horny and mostly under his control … one look from his eyes and her mind melted into a puddle of goo. 'What was wrong with her', she asked herself rhetorically?

Hermione had gone off in her own mind again while staring at him, a silly grin formed on her face. He tugged gently on her arm and broke her trance. She followed him into her bedroom, the one she never used, even her clothes, at least the ones she used daily, were mixed into his dresser and closet. Once a week they ventured in here and Harry pulled a vial of potion out of a locked chest and drank it … otherwise they seldom entered this room. As it was, she only just realized it happened to be Wednesday night. The first thing Harry did was make for the locked chest on top of her dresser and he pulled out a vial. Harry liked the box because it looked like a miniature version of a Pirate's chest he had seen on the tele many years ago at the Dursleys. He had purchased it at a second hand shop in Belize, an appropriate location to find such an item. He smiled at the silly idea. Then again … the Wizarding world being several hundred years behind the Muggle world in many ways, it could be the same design a Pirate would have used.

"I keep telling you that I trust you … you don't have to drink your potion in front of me every week," said Hermione in a jesting tone.

"And I keep saying that this way there is never a doubt in either of our minds," said Harry as she now sat beside him on the bed.

"Yes dear," she said as she motioned with her hand for the trunk to settle in front of them.

Harry opened the lid and Hermione plucked his parents' boxed wands out almost before he could see them. She tucked them under the pillow and out of sight, hoping one day that they could actually try them out. They pulled out all the memories and Harry put them in an unused dresser drawer and now they were down to more personal items. Harry mostly looked as Hermione cautiously pulled things out and set them aside. There were several dress robes for both James and Lilly with the Potter family crest embroidered on them, some work and casual robes as well as some Muggle clothes that were now quite out of fashion. Two boxes were next to come out, the first contained a Muggle tuxedo, it looked like what his Father wore at their wedding, at least in the still photos. The next box was about twice the size and Hermione was nervous about opening it. Harry flipped the top off and gasped, it was a brilliant titanium white, his Mother's wedding dress. Hermione's eyes bugged out as Harry stood and lifted it out of the box, he nodded for her to follow him. From behind he positioned her in front of the full length mirror and draped the dress over her. Hermione pulled it in at the waist and flared it out from her hips, it didn't take much for her to imagine herself walking down the aisle towards his smile and those sparkling green eyes that were looking back through the mirror at her. Whenever she had allowed herself the luxury of optimism, she had always pictured herself in her own Mother's wedding dress. Both dresses were so beautiful she may have to decide whom to disappoint.

With a sigh she folded it up and put it back in the box and the box went into her dresser for safe keeping. Some hardware came out next, two ancient looking, but beautiful swords. Hermione pulled the smaller of the two out and began unsheathing it until she saw the name engraved on it. "Niniane" the engraving on the blade was filled with gold, a flowing script in ancient English characters. The name rang a bell in her mind, and … as she slid the blade home in its scabbard she thought she could hear it singing to her. The sword's grip seemed as if it was moulding itself to her hand as she held it.

Hermione looked over to Harry, immediately picking up on the stunned look on his face. She looked down and saw he had picked up the other sword, it was about a third out of its scabbard on his lap … the name "Excalibur" sparkling back at them and then she remembered. Niniane Ambrosius, was the real name of 'The Lady of the Lake', the first wife of Merlin Ambrosius. We are going to have to have a talk with Merlin she mused.

A/N:

My apologies for the posting interval being so long. I got very little written between the summer and now. This is my last completed chapter! I had promised myself that I would stay 5 chapters ahead of what I posted … alas that promise has been broken and the next chapter is less than half written.

Some more authors with complete and in-progress stories that I am reading or have read and liked:

Edmond O'Donald ffn 3623347

muggledad pky 28264

Golasgil Sindar ffn 492394

udderpd ffn 507123

va32h ffn 1494355

lorddwar ffn 708471

Minstrel Knight ffn 1452167

Angry Hermione ffn 1025347

greenevans pky 7440

Paracelsus pky 8272

simons_flower pky 1558

Hopefully these will tide you over 'till I write some more.

Barmy


	55. Chapter 55

Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize from the books in the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling belong to the aforementioned J. K. Rowling. I am simply playing with them for my amusement, and to see what kind of reaction I can get.

This is what I have written so far … I had promised myself to be 4 or 5 chapters ahead of what I post, but that is no longer the case.

**55 – Godric's Shield**

Wednesday evening September 24, 1997 (cont'd)

Next to come out was a shield with the Pendragon coat of arms engraved on it and a matching suit of armour. Harry thought it quite odd that that particular coat of arms should come up, but it was the wrong shield so he put it aside. Hermione however, took particular note of it and remembered her Mother commenting on the Pendragon name they had seen in the Mausoleum. One more of Harry's distinguished, or perhaps extinguished ancestors. For the life of her, Hermione couldn't remember the lady's first name, but she had married into the Potters shortly after the Potter family line acquired the Gryffindor heritage.

Below the shield were photographs of his parents and some of their friends, then older paintings, presumably his ancestors. She recognized a few of the names from the Mausoleum. The next item to find its way out was a smallish wooden box with the name 'Lilly Evans' engraved in the top. A young ladies jewellery box by the look of it, Hermione took possession and with a nod from Harry, she opened it. Inside, in the top tray, were some very simple and ordinary looking pieces of jewellery that were hiding three rings, a mans wedding ring with a small diamond, a woman's wedding band with two griffins engraved on it and an engagement ring with two emeralds guarding a significantly, to Hermione's thinking, large, pale blue diamond. Hermione's eyes locked on to the engagement ring … it looked to Harry that she liked it and might want to try it on. Harry and Hermione both recognized it as Lilly's engagement ring from pictures and from Sirius description of the day James proposed. Sirius had told him of the inscription on the inside of the band ... 'Always and Forever'. Harry had never expected to see these items, other than in the photos and he kept looking between the engagement ring and Hermione's face. Other than the rings, the rest appeared to be the costume and inexpensive jewellery you would expect from a young lady. As she lifted the top tray out Hermione gasped, many of the pieces in the bottom were obviously old heirlooms. The box of course was much larger on the inside than the out, Hermione carefully dug in and found chains, chokers, brooches, rings, bracelets and a fabulous tiara, most of which were hundreds of years old if not more. They were all finely crafted, mostly Goblin made, and several of the rings had huge diamonds in them.

It was getting late and they were both getting tired. This bedroom was quickly filling up and there was still half a trunk to go through. When Harry suggested that they finish tomorrow, Hermione insisted that her curiosity needed to be satisfied tonight. They cleared off the bed … again … and continued pulling things out of the trunk and stacking them on it. They were looking disappointed when the last item was a wooden shipping box more than half a meter square and thick enough that her hand couldn't span it. There were several international destinations noted on shipping tags that were later crossed out or with newer tags stuck on top.

Harry had stacked it on the bed and, giving up, he started walking away. Hermione was also confused and disappointed, but had the sense to cast a revealing spell on the items stacked on the bed. Harry turned as she cast the spell and saw a wave of darkness come off something in the vicinity of the last item. He returned quickly and they cast several more spells, some in Parseltongue narrowing the dark magic down to the shipping crate.

Harry was about to break open the wooden box when Hermione stopped him saying, "There must be some reason that Dumbledore left it in the box, it might not be safe to touch the shield itself … it could be cursed. You remember Angelina and the necklace last year? Let's ask Dumbledore about it tomorrow."

Harry looked at her briefly before acknowledging her suggestion with a smile. He was fairly certain that whatever was in there was a horcrux, whether it was the shield they were looking for didn't really matter at the moment. He was tired and the allure of running his hands over her soft bumps and hollows was enough to get his little buddy's attention. Harry followed his Lady through the connecting washroom and into the other bedroom.

As he followed her into their bedroom, Hermione's thoughts drifted. Most of the changes that she had seen in him pleased her and made her feel more confident in their future. Instead of jumping into trouble, he was thinking and planning with her and the confidence and power he exuded excited her. She was her own person, as she had always been, but every now and then it felt good to be able to let Harry, her Harry, take over the controls so that she could relax, enjoy and go with the flow.

*************************

The next morning after Transfiguration they talked to Minerva about the box they found the night before and she promised to ask Albus if there was anything special they needed to be concerned about as far as handling the shield or whatever was in the wooden box.

They arrived a little late for Defence against the Dark Arts. Moody was still up to some tricks at the start of class. The two teens kept a close eye on him while they found their seats so as not to be surprised, but otherwise made no attempt to stop him. They had recently reached a deal with Moody where they would keep tabs on him but wait for others to catch him so that everyone had a chance to practice 'CONSTANT VIGILANCE!'. Professor Moody had gained a healthy respect for the young couple's magical power and protectiveness, he avoided provoking them again.

Professor McGonagall talked to them after lunch and told them that Albus had sent the shield to several curse breakers around the world trying to get the protections removed that Voldemort had put in place. Albus now suspected that it was cursed in Parseltongue and would therefore require the combined efforts of Harry and Salazar to get past the protections and destroy the Horcrux inside.

*************************

After the last class of the day, Hermione made her way to the Library while Harry returned to their rooms to collect the still boxed shield. When he arrived at the Library, they finished their immediate homework requirements, as per Hermione's schedule, before visiting Rowena and Salazar.

When Rowena assisted them into her Common Room they saw a very frustrated Draco arguing with Salazar over by the fireplace. They had been or were in the process of brewing several potions. Draco had three cauldrons going and Salazar didn't appear to be too pleased. Narcissa was sitting at the round table with a book and a cup of tea; she watched the Gryffindors and Rowena approach. There was another cup sitting unattended at the table indicating that perhaps the teens had interrupted a conversation between the two Matrons. Harry and Hermione sat at the table with Narcissa and Rowena, fresh tea arrived and they talked while they waited for Salazar to finish with Draco's potion brewing class and join them.

A short time later the class broke up with raised voices and an apparent disagreement between teacher and student. Draco remained to clean up and put away the equipment and ingredients while Salazar joined the other four at the table. The discussion around the table quickly turned to Salazar's opinion of Draco's aptitude, attitude and arrogance which didn't amuse his Mother.

Once Draco neared the table the conversation turned to the box that Harry had placed under the table. While Harry reached for it, Hermione informed the others of what they knew and speculated. Neither of the Malfoys knew what a horcrux was and as it was explained to them, they sat there with an open mouthed, shocked expression on their faces.

Rowena and Salazar carefully extracted the shield from the crate and, after clearing space, placed it in the centre of the table. After a discussion between the teens and the Founders that included both conjecture and fact, Salazar proceeded very cautiously to determine the degree and type of protection curses that the madman, Voldemort, had layered on the shield. While Salazar painstakingly worked and explained to Harry what he was doing, Rowena called forth Godric, Merlin and Helga to add their expertise and patience to this particularly difficult task.

By the end of the evening Harry had another Friday project to complete before lunch. He was again going to try to do it the hard way to keep from damaging Godric's shield.

*************************

Friday Morning September 26, 1997

It was about six in the morning and Hermione was awakened by something, a sound ... a movement ... she didn't know. She lay there unmoving, warm and content, trying to suss out or sense if there was really something wrong. She was about to reach out with her magic when something hairy flicked past her chin. Crookshanks, being a very smart cat, well, half Kneazel, was also luxuriating in the pleasure of using Harry's chest as a heating pad.

Hermione was nestled into Harry's left side, half of her on him, and with her nose buried in the crook of his neck. She only just kept from giggling when the orange hairy tail flicked past her chin again. Her right arm was under him, the hands' fingers were tangled in his hair. Her other arm was resting down on his hip. She wondered if Crookshanks had nudged it down there to make room for himself, she thought it had been wrapped around his chest when sleep took her. At that moment, Harry shuffled his hips, pushing against her centre as his legs spread just slightly. Her knee slipped further between his legs and only then did she recognize the feel of his hot woody against her thigh.

Hermione felt she was being a terrible tease ... to be this close to him and not go any further, Not that she hadn't tried a couple of times. Harry had managed to foil both attempts. She knew it was a badge of male honour to keep his word to her Father. The situation was as much torture for her as honour for him, she wanted to feel his smoking hot cock rip through her Maidenhood and make a Woman out of her ... and a Man out of him. Damn that boy!

Not that what she now had was in any way, shape or form, a bad shuffle of the deck. She had her way with him as he did with her, up to that point. What more could she ask for? Until the beginning of this past summer she had fully expected to be a bookworm and spinster for the rest of her life ... now she had Harry ... they had each other. Harry, oh Merlin, Harry ... he knew every sensitive point on her body and exactly how to give her the most pleasure out of each one. She fell asleep each night and several times each weekend, totally exhausted from his manipulations. Hermione gave as good as she received, if not better, poor Harry was just as wasted when he passed out too. Her peek-a-boo bra was now dangling somewhere from the canopy of the bed ... again. His boxers, she could feel them with her toes, they were down around his ankles. The only knickers she managed to keep on all night, and even that was rare, were the crotchless ones that allowed him access to her savoury bits. Oh Merlin, the thought of what his tongue and mouth could do to her down there was giving her the shivers and making her wet all over again.

Harry was awake by now, it wasn't like their two minds were actually separate individuals any more, they were joined in more ways than one. Crookshanks knew it was time to leave when Hermione's left thigh raised ever so slightly and he was gone before her left hand began to migrate towards Harry's engorged organ. What Crookshanks suspected and Hermione didn't know was that Harry's left hand and arm was stretching and morphing to make its way from behind to Hermione's warm, wet morsels. Her legs had spread more than enough when Harry's knees had opened slightly allowing her left thigh and knee to slip between his. The hot pressure of her thigh against him had almost sent a shock wave through his body.

Hermione's left hand slipped into the nether world beneath her thigh and as her finger tips brushed Prongs' baggage, Harry's hands found their own targets. Harry's right hand had found a firm warm breast while his left was slithering past Hermione's backside, then his middle finger slipped into Miss Jane's hot and slippery folds in search of the petals of her sacred flower and the nub of fiery magic just beyond. Hermione's eyes bugged open in shock and surprise ... while concentrating on her target she had not noticed the signs of him sneaking up on her. She gasped as she wrapped Prongs up in her small hand. Harry groaned, Hermione writhed and bit his neck as her other hand clenched in his hair ... and so began their morning.

Hermione made short work and a large mess from Prongs while Harry slowly tortured Miss Jane through two cataclysmic orgasms. By the time Hermione's toes finally uncurled, Prongs had his second wind and Hermione took her time getting him up to speed and exciting him enough to expand his original mess. Crookshanks jumped up on the bed, letting them know they had barely time for a quick 'shower for two' before a much needed breakfast.

*************************

It was another Friday morning, a little crisper in the cold Scottish Fall, about eleven in the morning that the Potters found themselves along with Poppy, Minerva, Ron, Neville, Remus and Mad-eye Moody, all out on the Quidditch Pitch for another soul extraction. This one was much more complicated and dangerous for some reason that the others had been. Hermione had been going over her notes on the process with Harry for the last hour. Hermione made sure they had all the potions and artefacts they might need and Harry concentrated on knowing the procedures. As with every other time, they had one chance to get it right and a thousand ways it could all go very wrong.

The stage was set with the shield on an old table from the Gryffindor Quidditch team's changing room and Harry was about to begin when Crookshanks trotted up to Harry as if he owned the place. Just who was going to make it clear to the half Kneazel that in fact Hermione owned pretty much everything she could see and then some. The Ministry and Board of Governors were in fact paying her rent for the use of the Castle and its grounds. There wasn't much that could be done, they waited, any cat lover knows that, unlike dogs, cats don't have masters ... they have servants. Once the humans learn this rule they usually get along with their cats and kneazels much better.

When Harry knelt down to pet and pick up Crookshanks, he heard a familiar hissing voice and C'ba scooted out from under Crookshanks to greet Harry. C'ba had been gone for over a week, Although she liked Harry, she had trouble adapting to Castle life and a lack of her favourite foods. Harry and Hermione had tried to conjure quail eggs and mice for C'ba, but they didn't taste right to the little snake. C'ba began telling Harry a story he heard from the other snakes in the forest about D'trs crossing water to enter the bottom of the big Castle. C'ba had eventually tracked the story back to a garter snake that lived beneath the Hogsmeade train station. That snake divulged that he heard the story from another large snake named N'gini who came with some humans in black cloaks and white masks. Snakes were either the worst secret keepers or biggest gossips in the animal kingdom ... after monkeys.

Once Harry had picked up C'ba, Crookshanks allowed Hermione to pick him up as well. After the story was told, Harry thanked C'ba and Crookshanks, then the two critters were quickly handed off to Hagrid who just happened to show up at the opportune moment.

Harry began the tedious task of removing the overlying curses on the shield to get down to the horcrux itself. Once he was down to the horcrux, and, after checking that everyone was ready, Harry transferred his wand to his left hand and pulled his staff out of it's invisible case. He cast the spell with his wand to extract the soul fragment from the shield then pointed the eyeball in his staff towards the black vapour that was a large bit of soul and chanted the spell '_Mortuis cruciamentum spiritui non corpus mortem'_. It was a good thing he wasn't in a panic ... that was a real tongue twister if he had to say it in a hurry. A familiar, brilliant white, bolt of light flew from the staff and engulfed to soul fragment before rocking the entire Quidditch stadium in a huge explosion that was felt and heard all the way up to the Castle.

Harry and most of the closer spectators were knocked off their feet, Hagrid managed to remain standing, though he had to step back to maintain his balance.

In the magical world explosions weren't all that uncommon ... consider Gred and Forges typical activities for example … it was the rattling of loose window panes and the dust that was shaken loose from precarious ledges and other perches that caused more of the stir in curiosity levels. If it weren't for the fact that the Weasley twins no longer went to Hogwarts, they would have been immediately blamed for the ruckus. Ahh ... the good old days when one knew who to blame.

Madam Pomfrey was treating all those that were in the Stadium for hearing impairment when several more teachers and students showed up. Pomona Sprout, following the direction of the bright flash of light, came from the Greenhouse number four with most of her seventh year class following behind. Firenze, followed closely by Professors Flitwick and then Sinistra burst through the main doors. Seeing Pomona running towards the Quidditch Pitch, they followed her and arrived several minutes after. The sixth year Gryffindors and Ravenclaws that were sitting in a Defence classes being taught by Luna and Ginny, followed one on the Professors as they ran through the Castle and outdoors, following the other teachers to the Quidditch Pitch.

*************************

Wednesday morning October 8, 1997

Over the preceeding two weeks the shield horcrux was destroyed, Draco learned to mostly get along with Salazar and the other Founders, Harry was given several small bottles of Felix Felicis by Horace Slughorn and this morning, the Greengrass family were all in the Castle.

The rumour that was started was that Daphne and her family were moving to Australia. The entire family was in the Headmistress's office this morning, they stayed there talking to Minerva, Albus and when they were not in classes, Harry and Hermione. Hermione had carefully orchestrated mentioning the story to Parvati in the girl's loo before breakfast, knowing that Lavender was in a nearby stall. For over six years the amazing Lavender Brown had always been the fastest method of spreading news and gossip in the castle and she didn't let Hermione down this time either. By lunch time even the first year Hufflepuff boys knew who Daphne was and that she was leaving soon.

That evening, after curfew, when they were least likely to be seen, Minerva, Hermione, and Harry with his fantastic map, led Daphne and her family to the Library, through the Restricted Section, and into Rowena's Common Room where they would remain for anywhere from a few weeks to several years.

Draco looked up from his studying, he was actually studying, to see his girlfriend, Daphne, enter with a much older Witch and Wizard. He sprang up from his seat, the table, books and parchment flying in all directions as he raced to the young woman. Draco reached her, embraced her, kissed her and spun her around several times before setting her down on her feet. The adults and Rowena smirked as Draco led Daphne away to his study table. He quickly righted the table and tried to sit Daphne down, but she had been sitting all day and now wanted to explore. They soon disappeared, hand in hand, through one of the doors in the back wall.


End file.
